By The Weekly Vision Reporter
The announcement made by Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja to develop a nightclub at Uhuru Park has met strong resistance from certain quarters, with critics asserting that it represents a misdirected priority and that the idea should not be pursued. However, an investigation by The Weekly Vision has established that there has always been a nightclub and restaurant at the park.
Those who are against the idea of reopening a club at Uhuru Park may not know of the previous existence of those facilities at the park, and then called Uhuru Park Inn.
Those who lived in the city in the 1980s and late 1990s will recall the existence of the Uhuru Park Inn under the management of Mr Armstrong Kasuku, the proprietor of the famous Garden Square Restaurant, as well as a Briton named Jack Kanyon, who was his business partner. Those who do not support Sakaj’s initiative should take into consideration that he is essentially reviving a past idea that had collapsed due to poor management and that the restoration of a club would present an alternative to the establishment of nightclubs in residential areas.
Governor Sakaja has assured the public that specific areas for those facilities within the park have been identified and has promised a transparent process of identifying individuals interested in conducting businesses and other activities within the park.
Further, the governor revealed that there would be other additional entertainment spots in the park, including Swahili and African restaurants, among others, that would be built under a public-private partnership (PPP) initiative. Restaurants and clubs will be leased to the public through a fair and transparent process.
A private investor-backed plan supported by the governor has, however, encountered its first hurdle with the Law Society of Kenya (LSK), which insists on the importance of public participation in the process before any further action can be taken.
