{"id":160050,"date":"2026-04-09T15:53:16","date_gmt":"2026-04-09T15:53:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/all-news\/ruto-announces-demolition-of-state-house-wall-for-river-reh"},"modified":"2026-04-09T16:50:30","modified_gmt":"2026-04-09T16:50:30","slug":"ruto-announces-demolition-of-state-house-wall-for-river-reh","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/all-news\/ruto-announces-demolition-of-state-house-wall-for-river-reh","title":{"rendered":"Ruto Announces Demolition of State House Wall for River Reh"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"ap-summary\" dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">\n<h4>What You Need to Know<\/h4>\n<p>President William Ruto has announced plans to demolish part of the State House wall located on riparian land as part of efforts to restore Nairobi&#8217;s river ecosystem. This initiative, led by the Nairobi Rivers Commission, aims to reclaim protected areas and address pollution in the city&#8217;s waterways. Ruto emphasized the need for strict enforcement of laws to protect public resources and improve the,<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><span class=\"ap-article-header-tag\"> <strong>Africa-Press &#8211; Kenya. <\/strong> <\/span>President William Ruto has declared that part of the State House boundary wall will be demolished as the government intensifies efforts to reclaim riparian land and restore Nairobi\u2019s river ecosystem.<\/p>\n<p>Speaking during a special sitting of the Nairobi County Assembly, the President said findings from a multi-agency team working on river rehabilitation had revealed that a section of the State House wall along Kirichwa Kubwa Road sits within a protected riparian reserve.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThey have told me at least 15 metres from the high mark, and I promise you that wall will come down,\u201d Ruto told Members of the County Assembly.<\/p>\n<p>The move is part of a broader initiative led by the Nairobi Rivers Commission, a multi-agency team established in December 2022 to rehabilitate, clean and restore the Nairobi River basin.<\/p>\n<p>The commission has been spearheading efforts to reclaim riparian reserves, remove illegal structures and address pollution in the capital\u2019s waterways.<\/p>\n<p>Ruto said the decision to bring down part of the State House wall underscores the government\u2019s resolve to lead by example in enforcing laws meant to protect public resources.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe great cities of the world did not become great by accident. They became great because leaders chose discipline over disorder, long-term planning over short-term politics and public interest over private convenience,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>The President emphasised that Nairobi\u2019s transformation into a modern and liveable city will require difficult but necessary decisions, including the removal of illegal developments and encroachments on public land.<\/p>\n<p>He outlined what he termed the attributes of a \u201cserious city,\u201d noting that urban centres must guarantee access to water, efficient mobility, proper sanitation and public safety.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cA serious city plans where people live, how they move, how they trade and how infrastructure supports growth,\u201d Ruto said. \u201cIt protects green spaces, manages waste properly and creates a dignified urban environment in which enterprise and opportunity can thrive.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The Head of State reiterated that ongoing efforts to restore order in Nairobi will not spare any individual or institution, warning that resistance to reforms would only delay progress.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf roads must be expanded, they will be expanded. If encroachment must be removed, it will be removed. If drainage channels must be cleared, they will be cleared,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf illegal structures must come down, they will come down. And if systems must be reorganised to restore order, they will be reorganised.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Ruto also criticised what he described as contradictions in public expectations, saying residents cannot demand improved infrastructure while opposing enforcement measures.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe cannot demand world-class infrastructure while defending lawlessness. We cannot cry about floods and then resist drainage work. We cannot complain about congestion and then oppose road expansion,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>The issue of riparian land in Nairobi has been a longstanding challenge, with encroachments affecting the city&#8217;s waterways and ecosystems. The Nairobi Rivers Commission was established in December 2022 to address these environmental concerns through rehabilitation and restoration efforts. President Ruto&#8217;s recent announcement reflects a commitment to urban planning and environmental sustainability, aiming to transform Nairobi into a modern city that prioritizes public interest and infrastructure development.<\/p>\n<p class=\"ap-article-footer-note\">Find more news and analyses on <span class=\"ap-highlight-country\">Kenya<\/span> on the <span class=\"ap-highlight-brand\">Africa Press<\/span> website<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>What You Need to Know President William Ruto has announced plans to demolish part of the State House wall located on riparian land as part of efforts to restore Nairobi&#8217;s river ecosystem. This initiative, led by the Nairobi Rivers Commission, aims to reclaim protected areas and address pollution in the city&#8217;s waterways. Ruto emphasized the [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":160049,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,7,12],"tags":[544,382,15843,15842,1653,312],"class_list":["post-160050","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-head-lines","category-policy","tag-kenya","tag-nairobi","tag-riparian-land","tag-river-rehabilitation","tag-state-house","tag-william-ruto"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.1 (Yoast SEO v27.0) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Ruto Announces Demolition of State House Wall for River Reh - kenya<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"President Ruto plans to demolish part of the State House wall to reclaim riparian land and restore Nairobi&#039;s river ecosystem.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/all-news\/ruto-announces-demolition-of-state-house-wall-for-river-reh\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Ruto Announces Demolition of State House Wall for River Reh\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"President Ruto plans to demolish part of the State House wall to reclaim riparian land and restore Nairobi&#039;s river ecosystem.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/all-news\/ruto-announces-demolition-of-state-house-wall-for-river-reh\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"kenya\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AfricaPressTunisiaa\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-04-09T15:53:16+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-04-09T16:50:30+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/kenya\/sites\/28\/2026\/04\/sm_1775753135.255266.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1600\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/all-news\/ruto-announces-demolition-of-state-house-wall-for-river-reh#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/all-news\/ruto-announces-demolition-of-state-house-wall-for-river-reh\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"headline\":\"Ruto Announces Demolition of State House Wall for River Reh\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-04-09T15:53:16+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-04-09T16:50:30+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/all-news\/ruto-announces-demolition-of-state-house-wall-for-river-reh\"},\"wordCount\":607,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/all-news\/ruto-announces-demolition-of-state-house-wall-for-river-reh#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/kenya\/sites\/28\/2026\/04\/sm_1775753135.255266.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Kenya\",\"Nairobi\",\"riparian land\",\"river rehabilitation\",\"State House\",\"William Ruto\"],\"articleSection\":[\"all news\",\"head lines\",\"policy\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/all-news\/ruto-announces-demolition-of-state-house-wall-for-river-reh#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/all-news\/ruto-announces-demolition-of-state-house-wall-for-river-reh\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/all-news\/ruto-announces-demolition-of-state-house-wall-for-river-reh\",\"name\":\"Ruto Announces Demolition of State House Wall for River Reh - kenya\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/all-news\/ruto-announces-demolition-of-state-house-wall-for-river-reh#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/all-news\/ruto-announces-demolition-of-state-house-wall-for-river-reh#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/kenya\/sites\/28\/2026\/04\/sm_1775753135.255266.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-04-09T15:53:16+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-04-09T16:50:30+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"description\":\"President Ruto plans to demolish part of the State House wall to reclaim riparian land and restore Nairobi's river ecosystem.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/all-news\/ruto-announces-demolition-of-state-house-wall-for-river-reh#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/all-news\/ruto-announces-demolition-of-state-house-wall-for-river-reh\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/all-news\/ruto-announces-demolition-of-state-house-wall-for-river-reh#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/kenya\/sites\/28\/2026\/04\/sm_1775753135.255266.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/kenya\/sites\/28\/2026\/04\/sm_1775753135.255266.jpg\",\"width\":1600,\"height\":1200,\"caption\":\"Ruto Announces Demolition of State House Wall for River Reh\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/all-news\/ruto-announces-demolition-of-state-house-wall-for-river-reh#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Ruto Announces Demolition of State House Wall for River Reh\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/\",\"name\":\"kenya\",\"description\":\"Just another Africa News Agency Sites site\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\",\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7417380fa9e23b5c57fdbfdaf3fdf92ee478f759a084addda5faa3732853e74a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7417380fa9e23b5c57fdbfdaf3fdf92ee478f759a084addda5faa3732853e74a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"cfeditoren\"}}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Ruto Announces Demolition of State House Wall for River Reh - kenya","description":"President Ruto plans to demolish part of the State House wall to reclaim riparian land and restore Nairobi's river ecosystem.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/all-news\/ruto-announces-demolition-of-state-house-wall-for-river-reh","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Ruto Announces Demolition of State House Wall for River Reh","og_description":"President Ruto plans to demolish part of the State House wall to reclaim riparian land and restore Nairobi's river ecosystem.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/all-news\/ruto-announces-demolition-of-state-house-wall-for-river-reh","og_site_name":"kenya","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AfricaPressTunisiaa","article_published_time":"2026-04-09T15:53:16+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-04-09T16:50:30+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1600,"height":1200,"url":"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/kenya\/sites\/28\/2026\/04\/sm_1775753135.255266.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"cfeditoren","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"cfeditoren","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/all-news\/ruto-announces-demolition-of-state-house-wall-for-river-reh#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/all-news\/ruto-announces-demolition-of-state-house-wall-for-river-reh"},"author":{"name":"cfeditoren","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb"},"headline":"Ruto Announces Demolition of State House Wall for River Reh","datePublished":"2026-04-09T15:53:16+00:00","dateModified":"2026-04-09T16:50:30+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/all-news\/ruto-announces-demolition-of-state-house-wall-for-river-reh"},"wordCount":607,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/all-news\/ruto-announces-demolition-of-state-house-wall-for-river-reh#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/kenya\/sites\/28\/2026\/04\/sm_1775753135.255266.jpg","keywords":["Kenya","Nairobi","riparian land","river rehabilitation","State House","William Ruto"],"articleSection":["all news","head lines","policy"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/all-news\/ruto-announces-demolition-of-state-house-wall-for-river-reh#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/all-news\/ruto-announces-demolition-of-state-house-wall-for-river-reh","url":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/all-news\/ruto-announces-demolition-of-state-house-wall-for-river-reh","name":"Ruto Announces Demolition of State House Wall for River Reh - kenya","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/all-news\/ruto-announces-demolition-of-state-house-wall-for-river-reh#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/all-news\/ruto-announces-demolition-of-state-house-wall-for-river-reh#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/kenya\/sites\/28\/2026\/04\/sm_1775753135.255266.jpg","datePublished":"2026-04-09T15:53:16+00:00","dateModified":"2026-04-09T16:50:30+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb"},"description":"President Ruto plans to demolish part of the State House wall to reclaim riparian land and restore Nairobi's river ecosystem.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/all-news\/ruto-announces-demolition-of-state-house-wall-for-river-reh#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/all-news\/ruto-announces-demolition-of-state-house-wall-for-river-reh"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/all-news\/ruto-announces-demolition-of-state-house-wall-for-river-reh#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/kenya\/sites\/28\/2026\/04\/sm_1775753135.255266.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/kenya\/sites\/28\/2026\/04\/sm_1775753135.255266.jpg","width":1600,"height":1200,"caption":"Ruto Announces Demolition of State House Wall for River Reh"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/all-news\/ruto-announces-demolition-of-state-house-wall-for-river-reh#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Ruto Announces Demolition of State House Wall for River Reh"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/","name":"kenya","description":"Just another Africa News Agency Sites site","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb","name":"cfeditoren","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7417380fa9e23b5c57fdbfdaf3fdf92ee478f759a084addda5faa3732853e74a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/7417380fa9e23b5c57fdbfdaf3fdf92ee478f759a084addda5faa3732853e74a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"cfeditoren"}}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/160050","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/84"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=160050"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/160050\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":160069,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/160050\/revisions\/160069"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/160049"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=160050"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=160050"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/kenya\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=160050"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}