Developers of an upcoming city, owned by the Kenyatta family in Ruiru, are on the spot after their dam caused rain water to flood homes in surrounding areas in the small hours of Thursday.

Northlands City, a mega urban development comprising of residential, industrial and commercial units, is being set up using water from Uhuru Dam, which is also called Sukari Dam.

There has been a simmering conflict between residents and owners of the project, conceived in 2016 and planned by Triad Architects, since 2015.

This was after the height of the wall at the dam’s spillway was raised to accommodate more water.

According to residents, the raised wall was put their lives at risk and exposed their property to damage by floods.

“In our various meetings with you, we expressed our reservations on the ‘containment wall’ blocking storm water from our estate into the natural course, which is within your property,” the residents said in a letter dated September 17, 2015.

The protest letter was addressed to Northlands City under the care of Brookside Dairy, a milk processor owned by the Kenyatta family, and was received by a Ms Angela Kyungu on September 25, 2015.

“It (the wall) restricts the natural flow of the water thereby causing flooding in our estate during heavy raining periods,” the letter signed by Varsityville Residents Association Secretary Francis Kiarie adds.

Their fears were confirmed on Thursday morning when storm waters flooded their houses as they slept.

One of the affected residents, Ms Caroline Gitari, told the Nation that their houses were flooded a few minutes after 1am.

“There is an obstruction that has forced water to flow into Varsityville estate and other surrounding areas,” she said.

She said she could count close to 10 houses that were affected by the raging waters.

“We have not slept. As we speak, we are stranded with children. Our houses are a big mess,” she added.

According to the locals, the wall, which they say was erected without consultations, first caused floods in 2015 and it has remained a nightmare since.

“In the last rainy season (2015), flooding was experienced on the plots neighbouring your property,” the residents say in their letter.

“The few homes around here were greatly distressed by this abnormal flooding and we informed you this.”

Mr Kiarie asked Northlands City to “lower the spill way level and remove or improve what you are calling the containment wall so that we can revert to the conditions that pertained earlier or apply any other conditions that do not pose any threat of flooding to our homes”.

However, it is emerging that the developers of Northlands City and the dam owners did not take any action despite residents’ threat to hold them accountable for any damages caused by storm waters.

The dam is situated along the Eastern Bypass next to Brookside collection and cooling centre in Kiambu County. It is located about a kilometre Clay Works factory on Thika Road.

Once complete, the Kenyatta family-owned Northland City will sit on 11,800 acres of land and will accommodate an estimated 250,000 people working and living within its boundaries.

It will feature residential homes, recreation facilities, a stadium, commercial centres, industrial estates, farms, schools, civic buildings and hotels.

Recent heavy rains have caused flooding across the country with tens of thousands displaced and more than 100 dead.

River Sabaki in Kilifi County recently broke its banks thereby displacing about 1,000 people in Malindi and Magarini constituencies.

According to Government Spokesman Cyrus Oguna, about 30,000 people have been affected by the heavy rains.

The meteorological department has issued flood alerts while urging Kenyans to be on the lookout for landslides and overflowing river banks.

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