The Nakuru County Government faces scrutiny over plans to close the multi-million-shilling Naivasha slaughterhouse for affordable housing and stadium projects.
Local leaders and traders have questioned the rationale of demolishing the facility, constructed with support from the Danish government, to make way for the two projects that are yet to be funded.
The county has directed that the slaughterhouse be closed down and the traders relocated to another facility outside Naivasha town, angering area residents.
Nakuru Senator Tabitha Karanja has termed the facility’s planned closure as illegal and inhumane.
Karanja said she would petition the Senate to intervene, noting that the facility is one of a kind and the primary source of meat for Naivasha town and many institutions.
She stated that the 55 acres where the facility is located is enough to host both the planned stadium and affordable housing without demolishing the slaughterhouse.
“The Governor should visit this facility and explain the logic behind its closure to pave the way for some projects that don’t have any budgetary allocation,” she said.
Speaking at the facility, she lauded the traders’ plans to open a tannery factory despite the lack of water and a feeder road, which is the responsibility of the county government.
Peter Njogu, one of the traders, highlighted that the slaughterhouse supports over 2,000 people directly and hundreds more indirectly.
He questioned the timing of the planned closure, suggesting that some individuals are interested in the prime land around the facility.
“The county has disconnected the water supply to kick us out. We shall not be intimidated as we know those behind this plan,” he said.
Peter Waweru echoed these sentiments, stating that the facility is one of the best in the country and that the move to close it is aimed at allowing some people to grab the land.
“The leaders we chose to represent us are now eyeing the 55 acres around the slaughterhouse despite the workers and traders investing millions to rehabilitate it,” he said.
He rejected the county’s plans to relocate them to Mirera ward, over 20 km from Naivasha town, where another slaughterhouse is under construction.
Local leader Dr John Muita said they would mobilize area residents to reject the closure, asserting that those behind the move are targeting the prime land.
Speaking earlier, Nakuru CEC for land John Kihagi stated that the land in question had been earmarked for a stadium, while the county had constructed another slaughterhouse in Mirera.
