County distances itself from controversial 'Afraha annex' post, terms it 'erroneous'
Students from school use the path on the Afraha Annex to get home.The land has sparked public uproar in the internet over a post made by the county government that they had plans to repurpose the land for an affordable housing project.
“The County Government of Nakuru has reaffirmed its commitment to affordable housing development as County Chief Officer for housing and development Arch. Kamau Kuria conducted an official inspection of the site embarked for the upcoming social housing Project....”
This is a section of a Facebook post that caused uproar across social media platforms for insinuating that affordable housing units will be built on Afraha stadium annex.
Following the noise, the post was pulled down.
According to Nakuru County’s Director of Communication, Bernard Namunane, the information shared on the official page was erroneous.
Pressed further to explain how an ‘erroneous’ post made it on the county’s official page, Namunane retorted, “Even you (Mtaa Wangu), haven’t you never made a mistake on a story and had to pull it down?”
So what exactly happened?
In a phone call interview with Arch. Kuria mentioned on the post, he confirmed that he indeed visited the site but not for the reasons stated.
He further distanced himself from the information on the post noting he is not aware how the post came to being.
“We have been touring the county documenting and profiling public land,” Kuria clarifies. “None of the land has been earmarked for development at this stage. We are simply profiling the parcels to gather data for future planning,” Arch. Kuria said.
He emphasized that any future development plans would only proceed after full public participation and engagement with relevant stakeholders.
“It is too early for anyone to jump to conclusions,” he says.
However, the County and National Government have differed in their statements after Nakuru town East Member of Parliament David Gikaria through a community WhatApp group stated otherwise.
“All national government and county government proposals are subject to public participation. The NG and CG make proposals subjected to the public participation. Be patient and give your views as and when the time comes, Madam Governor is very reasonable and responsible, she will do the right thing…,” stated the MP in the community WhatsApp group.
Airing out his concerns, Hassan Hussein a football coach notes that the action remains suspicious.
"I would say they used the post to test the public’s reaction on the matter. We might agree the post was erroneous, how about their site visit. Was that erroneous too?" he questions.
Currently, Hussein says the land is being used by local teams for training.
“Perhaps the county can consider upgrading Afraha Annex to be used for local matches,” he concludes.