APRIL 7, 2025, THE GREAT PLANNING ENGAGEMENT DAY
The day marked a quiet revolution in how development will unfold in Kajiado County. At Tumaini Gardens Hotel, government officials, planners, community leaders, and resident association chairs gathered for a first-of-its-kind workshop, one that may very well shape the future of urban planning in the county.
At the center of it all? A deceptively simple but powerful document: the No Objection Letter (NoL).
The workshop, convened by the County Government of Kajiado’s Department of Lands, Physical Planning and Housing, Urban Development and Municipalities, was not just a procedural meeting. It was a milestone in a broader movement to embed public participation at the core of development control. And for the Kajiado County Alliance of Resident Associations (K-CARA), along with her three founding Municipal Resident Associations (MARAs), it was a chance to finally activate a framework that’s been years in the making.
Why the NoL Matters
In Kenya’s planning world, No Objection Letters are more than bureaucratic formalities, they are the community signatures on development proposals. When issued properly, they confirm that a neighborhood is aware of and supports a proposed building, subdivision or land-use change. But until now, the process has often been unclear, inconsistent or dominated by technical players alone.
That’s changing.
Under Kenya’s devolved system and legal instruments like the Physical and Land Use Planning Act (2019), communities have a constitutional right to participate in how their spaces evolve. K-CARA, through its mandate and constitution, exists precisely to organize and amplify those community voices. The constitution of Kenya 2010 advocates for the collective voice of the people and that collection happens through citizen-led structured governance organs. At this workshop, the County government of Kajiado publicly affirmed that Resident Associations, through MARAs and K-CARA, have been recognized by the County Government through the MoE in reference as that official collective voice of the people on matters Spatial Planning, Development & Management and the governance thereof.
Making Participation Real
One of the most symbolic moments of the day was the formal issuance of a No Objection Letter to Mr. Johnathan Mutuku, the first ever presented under the newly recognized process to a developer within a spatial jurisdiction which has no formal resident association. It was handed over by Mr. Andrew Makokha, Chair of K-MARA, as prescribed by the signed MoE and issuance witnessed by CECM Parseina, LPPHUDM and the workshop attendants, signaling the readiness of organized communities to take on their governance role in planning. But symbolism aside, the workshop rolled up its sleeves and tackled the practical stuff on:
1. How No objection Letters (NoL) should be requested?
2. How the NoLs should be processed
3. What support documents would be needed?
4. What the timelines are and?
5. Who should authenticate what approval elements and by when?
K-CARA unveiled draft universal templates for the above parameters meant for use by RAs and issued by MARAs except for number “5” whose service charter needs to be formulated and operationalized by the County director of planning and K-CARA at the earliest opportunity. The County Government, on its part, promised to ensure that NoLs will be a mandatory step in development approvals, not a courtesy, but a compliance checkpoint.
From “Consulted” to “In Control”
The workshop wasn’t just about paperwork. It was about changing culture, shifting from top-down decision-making to structured, community-first planning.
Kajiado is urbanizing fast. Without clear frameworks for who gets a say in development, informal settlements, strained infrastructure and environmental degradation can follow. This new NoL protocol offers a way forward that is participatory, legal and grounded in community priorities.
Speakers from the County Government and K-CARA emphasized that development without consent is not development but a gambling investment. The future must be collaborative, with communities not just “consulted” but truly in control of what gets built around them.
Accountabilities:
This above referenced control is however without prejudice to the need for accountability across all the levels of this development process. For a long time, RAs have lamented that they have had no capacity to oversight or demand their rightful share & quality of service from government. With the formation and recognition of K-CARAs, the symbiotic and mutually benefitting accountability is now complete.
On behalf of the residents, K-CARA can now sit at the high Strategy table of policy, legislative and Regulatory engagement to ensure engraving of a Citizen-Centered decision-making process. At the K- CARA leadership, Residents are represented by Chairs of MARAs who are elected firstly at the grassroot as grassroot Resident Associations’ Chairs. On the other hand, MARA leadership constitutes of Chairs of grassroot Resident Associations (RAs) who in-turn will have been elected by their respective individual members at the grassroot neighborhoods.
It follows that the County Government/Municipalities have now MARAs & K-CARA, collective platforms of resident associations which by their legal and functional mandate can hold the government(s) to account under their amicable functional relationship. On the other hand, the County government, through the content and termination provision in the MoE can hold K-CARA to account while K-CARA holds MARAs to account through the functional relationships established under their respective constitutions.
For RAs to exercise & enjoy the cascaded functions, rights, privileges and protection provided under the MoE, it follows that they have to subscribe to the norm of accountability already set right from the top to the bottom. They have to be accountable to MARAs through the MARA-RA MoE.
To guarantee integrity and good governance, likely conspiracy & conflict loopholes must be sealed both at the grassroot and at the top irrespective of the cost. If that accountability is left to the Municipality who is exercising the powers to accredit or dis-accredit, then we open a Pandora box of blackmail that forces RAs to break approval rules in exchange of continuous accreditation. Unfettered powers at the grassroots may be as dangerous or even more than rogue staff.
Conflicts can arise between different splinter groups within the same Resident Association. RA development inspection committees can differ with their executive committee on their recommendations for approval. Neighboring RAs can conflict on a pending approval as development impacts are not widespread or an area may have no structured RA. In such situations, MARAs would be the only feasible arbitrators as Municipalities would be conflicted as aforesaid.
WORKSHOP RESOLUTIONS & POLICY FORECAST:
1. The status quo of issuance of No objection Letters to remain where RAs issue recommendation letters for issuance of NoL while the MARAs issues the actual NoL on their behalf.
2. In the meantime, a taskforce between the resident associations and the County Government/Municipalities was named to address the pros & Cons of the status quo to aid a progressive way forward. Waziri will be the convenor.
3. Thereafter, mechanism will be put in place at every level of approval to ensure efficiency, transparency and professionalism.
4. Train MARA & RA leaders and their technical teams on project evaluation guidelines, processes, Planning laws and community engagement procedures.
5. Explore digitization mechanisms to inject efficiency, confidentiality & cost effectiveness in the approval processes.
6. Pursue regular meetings between K-CARA, Municipality, County Level development approval office & other key stakeholders to monitor and evaluate the success of the process for improvement.
7. All stake-holders to endeavor to work symbiotically with others for the common good, realizing that citizen engagement at grassroot approvals is now part of the County Policy.
8. There was also discussion around funding and resourcing, to ensure that MARAs and K-CARA can
sustainably carry out their responsibilities with adequate technical and financial support. K-CARA
leadership committed itself to engaging the County & National Governments, Partners, Corporates
and professional clusters to bridge this gap.
The Big Picture
At its core, this initiative is about reclaiming the right to shape the places we live in. For too long, planning decisions in many Counties have happened behind closed doors. But in Kajiado, the script is being re-written, one that focuses on organized citizens, upholds transparency, and protects the integrity of neighborhoods. For K-CARA, it was a long-term dream coming to fruition.
Structured, citizen-led urbanization.
And for residents of Kajiado County, whether members of an association or not, the message was clear: You have a voice in how your community develops. And now, you have a legally recognized pathway to use and shape that desired future.
