Watamu Beach Operators Demand Demolition of Killer Building

By Julius Mwabonje

Email, thecoastnewspaper@gmail.com

Beach operators doing business at Jakaranda area of Watamu in Kilifi County want a five-storey building under construction to be demolished after collapsing and killing one construction worker.

The operators, mostly women, held demonstrations at the construction site claiming that the building had violated marine conservation laws as it was being constructed within a 60 meter high water mark.

Led by the chairman of Watamu beach operators Daniel Musau and Charity Chari, the operators accused government agencies such as the National Environmental Management Authority (NEMA), the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) and the County government of Kilifi and its elected leadership of approving the Twiga beach construction disregarding the law.

“When this investor came here, we thought he would bring jobs but he came and demolished our makeshift shops at the beach and started construction. Our efforts to get help from concerned offices have been futile since we present our grievances and the office holders pledge to take action in vain,” said Chari.

She added that for the last 20 years they have been operating on that section of the public beach but the contractor had become a thorn in their flesh.

“We have been here for 20 years and we operated peacefully, but the investor came and convinced us that he will displace us and reconstruct our shops, a thing that never happened. It is shocking that we were supposed to benefit from his investment but we have ended up suffering.”

The chairnan said that he intervened when their shops were demolished to pave way for the building and ensured that the beach operators got a place to operate from.

“This investor and hic contractor must be stopped because he has harassed my members for more than two years and whenever my members seek help in offices, the investor and his contractor buy their way out. We demand for the sacking and disciplinary action to be taken on the officers involved.”

According to him the construction had also interfered with the beachline since the developer was dumping debris in the water hence interfering with marine life.

“There’s destruction of the beach and debris have been dumped there. It is a shame that the government is concentrating on money instead of protecting its citizens.”

Several construction workers sustained serious injuries after a section of a luxurious five storey building collapsed and were rushed to hospital.

The controversial building is reportedly being built within the 60 meters from the high-water mark which is illegal but the Investor allegedly got approvals for the construction despite protests from community and conservationists in Watamu.

What began like a normal working day for the construction workers ended as a tragedy after the basement area they were pouring concrete collapsed leaving one person dead.

Hundreds of curious onlookers including beach operators, tour guides, tourists and community members living around the area flocked to the scene to witness the disaster.

When journalists arrived at the scene, the body of the construction worker who had died was still at the scene.

Residents said that they had seen two people being rescued and rushed to hospital but there were fears that there could be more bodies still trapped inside.

Ahmed Mohamed, a resident of Watamu who is an engineer, said that the materials used for construction of the resort were substandard and weak.

He added that in an area where the contractor was supposed to use strong D16 metals he used very small ones that could not hold the building in the basement.

The resident called on the government authorities to bring down the building to avoid a much bigger disaster in future.