This archive report was first published on 11 July 2019.
Published on July 11, 2019, Nairobi Governor Mike Sonko has sparked outrage after demolishing the Pimp my Ride garage, leased to businessman Patrick Nderitu, ahead of a court hearing.
The demolition, which took place around 2am on Thursday morning, has left many in shock. The garage, which was once home to Simmers Restaurant, was leased to Nderitu by the City County with the help of Sonko.
However, the two men were once close friends but their relationship soured when Nderitu repossessed a land in Buru-buru in May this year. Sonko arrived with hired goons, leading to a clash, and his convoy was stoned, forcing security officers to fire in the air to scatter the rowdy group.
Nderitu acquired the multi-million shillings land more than a year ago and was there to evict a school and church sitting there as ordered by Nairobi Court.
A Nairobi court had scheduled an inter partes hearing for tomorrow following the demolition of the same garage in May, which was also supervised by Sonko. The businessman claims to have lost more than Sh80 million in the previous demolition.
During the Thursday morning demolition, the owner of one of the M-Pesa shops within the complex lost a safe with an unknown amount of money. A costly hydraulic vehicle alignment machine was also destroyed in the process.
“Sonko was in his car watching as the bulldozers demolished everything in the middle of the night,” said one of the witnesses who had been guarding the business.
