The Kenya Jamhuri Showground lease controversy erupts as whistleblower claims expose a shadowy plan to hand over the iconic public space to a Chinese firm without public input, igniting fury over the potential erasure of Nairobi’s communal heart.
Narok Senator Ledama Olekina blew the lid off the deal on November 5, accusing the government of quietly leasing chunks of the 120-acre Jamhuri Park, long a hub for agricultural fairs, protests, and family picnics, to China Plaza Group for a sprawling mixed-use development.
“This is not investment; it’s invasion. They’re selling our heritage behind closed doors,” Olekina thundered during a heated presser at Parliament Buildings, his words echoing the raw anger of residents who view the grounds as untouchable public turf.
The allegations, first surfacing via an anonymous tip to The People Daily, detail a 99-year lease agreement brokered by the Agricultural Society of Kenya (ASK), the site’s custodians, with minimal transparency.
Documents purportedly leaked show the Chinese conglomerate eyeing a Sh5 billion trade hub complete with exhibition halls, a luxury hotel, and commercial plots, mirroring the China-Kenya International Commerce Centre foundation laid by President William Ruto on October 1.
That project, touted as a job creator with 3,000 direct roles, now faces scrutiny for overlapping footprints, raising questions about whether ASK’s deal is a stealth extension.
“No tenders, no consultations, just signatures in the dark. This land belongs to Kenyans, not Beijing boardrooms,” the whistleblower, a mid-level ASK official speaking to KTN News under cover of anonymity, revealed, brandishing redacted memos that hint at rushed approvals post-Ruto’s Doha charm offensive.
Urban activists, led by the Mathare Social Justice Centre, staged a flash mob at the grounds’ gates, waving placards reading “Jamhuri for Farmers, Not Foreigners.”
“We’ve lost Uhuru Park to concerts; now this? It’s privatisation by proxy, squeezing out the poor,” the group spoke to the media, linking it to broader land grabs like the 2023 LAPSSET corridor sell-offs.
Environmentalists piled on, warning of green space loss in a city where tree cover dips below 10 per cent, per UN-Habitat data.
“This lease could pave paradise for parking lots, worsening floods and heat islands,” cautioned a Green Belt Movement official in a viral Instagram reel.
Government mouthpieces scrambled to douse the flames. Lands CS Alice Wahome, in a terse KBC statement, dismissed the claims as “misinformation from disgruntled elements,” insisting any deal would undergo “due process” under the Public Private Partnerships Act.
ASK’s silence speaks volumes; their Westlands office fielded no calls, and a website check revealed no public notices. Ruto’s October launch of the commerce centre, billed as a “gateway to East Africa prosperity”, now casts a longer shadow, with critics labelling it “debt diplomacy 2.0”, echoing the Sh600 billion in Chinese loans Kenya owes.
“Ruto woos Qatar for JKIA, now sells Jamhuri to China? What’s next, Table Mountain?” Mohamed jabbed on the House floor, drawing chuckles amid jeers.
The controversy taps into a vein of unease over foreign footprints in Kenyan soil, from the Standard Gauge Railway’s opacity to stalled Konza technopolis bids.
As dawn broke over the showground’s dusty fields on November 6, Olekina vowed to table a motion blocking the deal, rallying cross-party support.
“We stopped the Adani airport grab; Jamhuri won’t fall quietly.” With Ruto’s administration eyeing FDI to hit 5.6 per cent growth targets, the Kenya Jamhuri Showground lease controversy of 2025 tests the tightrope between ambition and authenticity. Will transparency triumph, or will the grounds’ gates swing shut on the public?