• The iconic statue of Nyayo and the monuments of freedom fighter Mau Mau will be preserved.
•Central Park will have a library for young people to read and will also be used for e-book launches.
The structure of the iconic Uhuru and Central parks to give them a modern, world-class look is taking shape.
The work began last November but was suspended due to a court case.
However, work continued last month after the National Assembly allocated one billion shillings for the park’s renovation through the Supplementary Appropriations Bill 2021, which was approved by President Uhuru Kenyatta.
A Star website revealed that contractors want to speed up construction work at any of the parks.
Structures on the foundation slabs are already visible in the two parks that closed for renovation last month.
A Nairobi Metropolitan Services Master Plan says the new look will involve the installation of services and equipment that the parks lacked.
The parks had been overlooked for many years and needed to be modernized.
NMS is modernizing the parks with their own contractors and not a personal contractor as the parks were out of date and the renovations deserve to have been done 20 years ago.
The main park services were built in the 1960s and 1980s for other people who were less than a million at the time, but now Nairobi has more than 4 million inhabitants.
Uhuru Park will come with well-kept lawns, manicured trees, stepped walkways and green spaces.
The park’s water lily pond will be in an aquarium called Uhuru Aquascape.
A larger synthetic lake will be on a main boardwalk with a Swahili restaurant.
There will also be an amphitheater equipped with an audiovisual screen, a used lawn in the shape of A Nyatiti, as well as a playground, with bouncy castles and attractions.
The iconic Statue of Nyayo and the Mau Mau Freedom Monuments will be preserved.
There will be a botanical area with all species of flowers and plants to capture Kenya’s floral biodiversity, with flowers and plants sorted to learn.
Management offices, event spaces, sanitary facilities, exercise spaces and tourist features and attractions will also be available.
The parks will be fenced and occupied, allowing both parks to operate 24 hours a day.
There will also be terraced seating spaces with a biosphere look, a dancing fountain installed along Processional Way and several high-end restaurants and two restaurants.
Central Park will have a library for young people to read and will also be used for e-book launches.
Both parks were closed for renovation in October after Nairobi’s MCAs approved a move to rehabilitate the two iconic public parks, which were in a deplorable state.
The movement through Nairobi County Assembly Majority Leader Abdi Hassan Guyo called for the urgent closure of the parks to allow for their rehabilitation in order to restore them to their former glory.
Guyo said the iconic parks have suffered years of oblivion and are in poor condition.
They threaten to waste their appeal, old importance and popularity if they are quickly rehabilitated.
He explained that the rehabilitation and modernization of urban parks and green spaces in Nairobi County is part of the allocation of the presidential legacy and therefore desires the entire county.
However, on December 7, 2021, Judge Wabwoto issued orders prohibiting NMS and its subcontractors or agents from lowering trees or depicting paintings in the park.
The proceedings were suspended until the case was heard and decided.
On December 17, 2021, attorney Duncan Okatch, NMS petitioned the court to rescind orders that had suspended his paintings in the parks.
The NMS argued that the prevention order was issued because of “incorrect court information and obscuration of genuine facts. “
In addition, they had argued that Judge Wabwoto’s ruling had been rendered without NMS having had a chance to be heard and that Badi had won any ice or permission to respond.
In January, Judge Edward Wabwoto rejected the request of NMS Director General Lieutenant Badi, saying Badi had given compelling reasons to justify the court overturning the same.
However, it is believed that NMS won the case by giving them authorization to continue the work.
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