Tenants, landlords all smiles as security improves in Muranga South
A new light now shines on Murang’a South realtors with improved security, following a crime wave that had slumped property fortunes in the last decade.
Crimes such as kidnapping, organised community gangs, drug trafficking and illicit brewing were rampant, making the property sector a nightmare, with some rental houses attracting a monthly rate of as low as Sh150 especially in the volatile areas of Ichagaki, Kamahuha, Makuyu and Nginda wards.
In towns like Sabasaba and Maragua, lodging rates per night were Sh200, but the situation is changing.
Deputy County Commissioner Mawira Mungania said the cry of property developers reached a crescendo in 2020 with runaway crime.
“It is then that in collaboration with regional security bosses we laid down work plans aimed at reversing the trend and we are now happy to note that the serious measures we put in place are paying dividends,” he said.
In most towns, he said, tenants, landlords and property dealers are breathing a sigh of relief.
“We are noticing a situation whereby tenants are now free to sample a variety of estates in their towns. There were estates in the cited dangerous areas where tenants would not have moved into even for free. There were areas where brokers would find difficulty pushing through a deal owing to insecurity,” he said.
Murang’a Property Brokers Association chair James Karani told the Nation that in Murang’a South, profits from property deals had peaked at 30 percent by the close of the 2020/21 financial year.
“This has come about owing to serious onslaughts against criminals and their enterprise in many of our prime areas. The free movement of tenants is coming with rental rates reprieve as the sector opens up. We have tenants moving from one estate to the other and immediately benefitting from as high as a 50 per cent cut on rates,” Mr Karani said.
So bad was the situation in some estates once that gangs occupied rental houses for free, with some landlords reducing monthly rental rates to attract tenants while developers shied from developing their plots.
Self-contained rental houses that gangs in Maragua, Murang'a County, vandalised and devalued to a monthly rate of Sh500 as opposed to the market value of Sh6,000.
Vandalism
James Kuria has, for the past 10 years, laboured to put up self-contained rentals in Mathare Estate.
“Of the 20 units, by last year, 12 were ready for occupation. But some criminals came and vandalised all of my steel doors and windows. They told me that I was wealthy and could afford to replace them,” he told the Nation.
He eventually replaced them but he could not get tenants, because the rentals were going for Sh6,000 per month.
“Those who can afford such a rate automatically expose themselves to the gang that they are wealthy. They would end up being daily targets of the gang either for attacks or extortions,” said Martin Njagi, a property agent in the town.
To secure his property from further vandalism, Mr Kuria reduced the rate to Sh500 per month to attract tenants who would also serve as security. In a month, he collects Sh10,000 from the 20 units as opposed to the market rate of Sh120,000.
The gangs have also vandalised several government premises, including a facility that had been set up in Boarder Estate for rehabilitating victims of drug abuse. Ironically, the gang transformed the facility into a chang’aa, bhang and khat shop.
Mr Karani suggests that the police revise their patrol schedules.
“We have a situation whereby police are showing up in our streets as early as 7pm and in big numbers. This is anti-business because police presence scares away people from the streets, and that is bad for our hawkers. These hawkers are also our tenants and if their businesses suffer, the multiplying effect cuts across other sectors,” he said.
He recommended discreet patrolling instead of a situation where dozens of armed police are poured onto the streets and as they move around are seen arresting residents, sometimes for trivial offences.
Mr Mungania said his officers are committed to helping area realtors regain the true market value of their properties and enjoy the fruits of their labour.
He said he has established a team to specialise in the task.
“Let us receive all complaints. We have a team led by Chief Inspector Cleophas Juma and he will deal with the issues. The whole of our County Security Committee led by our commissioner is committed to delivering that area from the criminal nonsense,” he said.
Most affected parts
Mr Njagi said the most affected estates are the insides of Milimani, Rurii, Boarder, Gikindu and Mathare, adding that as a result, property prices have remained sluggish for the past five years, with an eighth of an acre ranging Sh400,000 to Sh800,000 across the mapped town boundaries.
“In some of these areas we have monthly rent of Sh200 for a single room that ideally would be fetching Sh1,200 as landlords get creative to squeeze an income from their investments,” he said.
“Others are not lucky since the gangs have occupied some of the rentals for free and owners are threatened with dire consequences should they insist on demanding rent.”
The risk is echoed by Pablus Mwirigi, who recently bought a piece of land and built his residential home in Gikindu estate.
“I was only two weeks into my new home…I have a business in the central business district of Maragua town which I run with my wife. As usual, we went home only to find it had been swept clean,” he said.
Ichagaki MCA Charles Mwangi said: “We have held a specific meeting for Maragua as a town that we are seeking to elevate to municipality status. One of the major concerns that have been raised is the influence of gangs in the real estate sector.”
The other challenges are lack of a central sewer system and clean water infrastructure, as well as a conducive environment for open-air trade. When it rains, most spaces get waterlogged, inconveniencing small-scale traders, he added. BY DAILY NATION
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