The Court of Appeal has delivered a landmark ruling on Nairobi’s controversial high-rise developments, following a challenge by residents of Rhapta Road to approvals granted by Nairobi City County and environmental licences issued by the National Environment Management Authority (NEMA).

The residents argued that the approvals—some allowing buildings of up to 28 floors, were unconstitutional and unlawful, given the absence of an up-to-date zoning framework.

They claimed the projects threatened environmental rights and breached planning statutes.

Developers and authorities countered that the approvals followed legal procedures in a city transitioning to modern planning instruments.

In January 2025, the Environment and Land Court (ELC) held that the approvals were misaligned with Nairobi’s operative zoning regime.

Relying on the Draft 2021 Nairobi City Development Control Policy as a guide, the ELC capped building height at 16 floors and directed compliance with the 2021 policy in future.

Dissatisfied, residents appealed for stronger remedies such as cancellation and demolition, while a developer cross-appealed, arguing Rhapta Road was misclassified as “Zone 4” instead of “Zone 3C,” which permits taller buildings.

Which Planning Instruments Apply

The Court clarified the hierarchy of planning documents:

1. The 2004 Zoning Guidelines, created under the repealed Physical Planning Act, no longer bind under the current constitutional and devolved system.
2. The 2016 Nairobi Integrated Urban Development Master Plan (NIUPLAN) is valid but only provides citywide strategy, not parcel-specific controls.
3. The 2021 Nairobi City County Development Control Policy was developed through public participation and technical processes and has been applied administratively.  However, without County Assembly approval and gazettement, it lacks binding legal force, though it may guide decisions persuasively until formally adopted.

In general, the 2004 guidelines are obsolete, NIUPLAN sets strategic direction only, and the 2021 policy serves as an interim interpretive guide pending gazettement.

Rhapta Road Zoning

The Court partly allowed the developer’s cross-appeal, correcting the ELC’s reliance on Google Maps.

It confirmed that Rhapta Road is consistently classified as Zone 3C, permitting up to 20 floors subject to technical and environmental limits.

Projects along the road will therefore be evaluated under Zone 3C standards, with height contingent on factors such as infrastructure capacity, plot ratios, site coverage, and environmental safeguards.

Structural Relief

Noting a governance vacuum caused by the lapse of pre-2010 ordinances and the delay in gazetting the 2021 policy, the Court issued a structural interdict, a supervisory order to ensure Nairobi formalises lawful planning instruments.

Nairobi City County must complete and gazette zoning and development control policies within six months, file a mid-term progress report at three months, and submit a compliance report, including evidence of public participation, within seven days of the deadline.

Pending applications will proceed under the Physical and Land Use Planning Act (PLUPA), guided by the 2021 policy, while previously issued approvals remain valid unless proven illegal.

Why It Matters

The Court underscored three planning principles: predictability, through enforceable zoning rules; transparency, through published standards and genuine participation; and capacity-linked growth, where approvals reflect infrastructure realities and cumulative impacts.

The orders also highlight intergenerational equity, ensuring densification does not cause irreversible environmental and social harm.

The Bottom Line

The Court of Appeal has not halted Nairobi’s skyscraper boom.

Instead, it has directed that the city’s vertical growth proceed under lawful, transparent, participatory, and capacity-aware planning, delivered within strict timelines and under limited judicial oversight.

Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja. PHOTO/Sakaja Channel.