Preserve Kiambu Golf Club land and others reserved for sports, recreation

A golf course. Those insensitive to posterity remain keen to convert golf courses to real estate. FILE PHOTO | NMG

Most golf courses are vast, exclusive, and located in pristine, high value and highly coveted zones. However, those insensitive to posterity remain keen to convert them to real estate.

Debate has been raging in some local radio stations over whether Kiambu Golf Club, which occupies prime land in Kiambu town, should cede part of its land as a condition for the extension of its lease.

The land excised, it’s argued, will be used for other urban needs. Proponents of this demand observe that the facility currently serves only the needs of a few, while the majority of Kiambu residents remain crammed in a small space due to a lack of land for settlement. This must be a tough moment for the club management.

Not long ago, Kiambu was a sleepy rural town, separated from Nairobi by Karura Forest and sprawling coffee estates. The drive to and from was lonely and, at night, even dangerous, with hardly any developments along the way, save for some civil servants’ flats at Ridgeways.

Today, the entire stretch between Muthaiga and Kiambu is heavily developed with major commercial and residential facilities.

Save for the Karura Forest rim, the tree cover is gone, as is the lush green of the coffee estates. The vegetation cover along the main transport arteries connecting Kiambu to Ruiru, Limuru and Githunguri is also largely gone. The serene, soothing landscape has given way to all manner of developments.

The future of vast parts of Kiambu, like that of many other urbanised counties in Kenya, is stone. Future generations will take the consequences. The current generation of leaders should therefore resist the temptation to diminish the remaining green spaces in the county, and leave these “lungs” to continue aerating the environment.

Some may recall that there was a time some provincial administration bigwig had vowed to subdivide and allocate the Kiambu Golf Club land. It took the concerted efforts by the leaders of the time to stop the quest. Today’s leaders may wish to be similarly remembered for preserving, and not decimating the club’s legacy.

It may be more strategic to engage the club management to consider options of accommodating other sports, even if for a fee, so as to serve more people. But the beautiful green lawns should be preserved. They provide great aesthetics to Kiambu, and serve to clean up its air.

Indeed, there have been other attempts to grab sports and recreation facilities in various parts of Kenya. Nairobi has borne the brunt as well. Such efforts are ill-advised and should be resisted. Our increased population has greatly constrained urban spaces. In some towns today, families will be seen “cooling off” on traffic islands such as roundabouts and between dual carriageways over weekends.

This is unhealthy and insecure. It’s a strong indictment on our land governance. County governments should therefore prioritise the preservation of existing open spaces, sports and recreation facilities without compromise.

The writer is a consultant on land governance. ([email protected])