Residents sweat 16 floors up over unpaid City Hall elevator charges

It’s half past 10am on a busy Thursday morning in Nairobi.

Jane Kamau whose eatery was recently closed down due to a lack of documents in the city’s Waithaka area is visiting county offices at the city centre.

When she arrived, Kamau was directed to an office on the seventh floor of City Hall Annexe.

But as she tries to press the elevator button, a security guard informs her that they have not been functional for about three months now.

It then dawns on her that she must use the stairs, an exercise that would have taken her less than a minute if the elevator was functional.

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As she walks up, she meets a huge number of residents scrambling on the stairway to access offices.

Visitors have to sweat on the stairs all through to the 16th floor.

The building houses offices of Public Service Management, Education, Sports, and Youth Affairs, Finance and Economic Planning, and Water.

Users spit on the walls and staircase, posing a health risk in the busy building that houses key departments.

City Hall Annexe lifts have been grounded over a Sh4 million debt.

The inconvenience has also caught senior county and Nairobi Metropolitan Services (NMS) staff.

When The Saturday Standard visited the building, the elderly and people with a disability felt the pain of seeking government services.

Among them was Kabiro MCA Lawrence Murunga. The Standard caught up with him on the fifth floor. “It is something we have discussed for a long time in vain. I think the governor should also intervene.”

The Standard was informed by Schinldler, the company that maintains the Annex elevators, that they withdrew the services when payments were delayed.

Even though the company declined to comment further, it admitted to having a contract with City Hall to service the elevators.

County Director of Communications Beryl Okundi said there are plans to sort out the matter. Finance CEC Allan Igambi did not comment.

On the building’s 11th floor, the social services office where people living with disability mostly visit remains deserted. Catherine Githinji, one of the staff members at the department, said the absence of elevators has hindered PWDs access to crucial services.

“It is really challenging for everyone but people living with a disability no longer manage to come because they can’t climb all the way,” she said.

“This is a total mess. People are spitting everywhere, which is a health risk. Imagine the number of communicable diseases that can be spread in this building,” said Aaron Mwirigi, a businessman who works in the building.

Lydia Wanjiku, another city resident, told The Standard: “This place is a mess. One can easily suffocate when using the stairs. People are spitting everywhere and it is disgusting. Something needs to be done.”

She added: “I have been visiting the building for two weeks trying to get services on the seventh floor. It is not easy to climb all the way, even though I don’t come daily.”

A senior Nairobi Metropolitan Service staff member who works at the building admitted that the absence of an elevator is a real challenge that needs to be addressed soon.

The building’s caretaker Anthony Njeru said the problem has been persistent and many people have been affected.

“It is true but I’m not allowed to go into details, maybe my bosses can assist you,” he said.

But Waithaka MCA Anthony Karanja pleaded with Governor Anne Kananu to intervene.

“A number of county offices in the building are not in good condition. Sometimes there is no power and water in the toilets. It has been a persistent problem for months now,” he said.