Kileleshwa MCA Robert Alai has accused Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja’s administration of ignoring billboard regulations, warning that unchecked outdoor advertising has created a “visual glut” fuelled by cartels and corruption.
The ODM legislator says hundreds of illegal billboards continue to be erected across the city despite a 2025 ban on approvals, costing Nairobi County millions in lost revenue and overwhelming key roads such as James Gichuru.
Speaking during an interview on Radio Generation, Alai said the proliferation of billboards reflects a deeper failure of enforcement at City Hall.
“When you see a mess, it means we lack enforcement,” he said, arguing that the county lacks both the capacity and political will to regulate outdoor advertising effectively.
Alai claimed that although there are about 1,800 licensed outdoor advertisers operating in Nairobi, the county collects revenue from only about 10 per cent of them.
He blamed this on corruption and what he described as powerful cartels within the outdoor advertising industry.
“The billboard owners have a cartel of crane providers. If you try to enforce the law, you become an enemy of the industry. This is corruption fighting back,” he said.
According to the MCA, removing illegal billboards is expensive and technically demanding, making enforcement difficult.
“Someone puts up a billboard in three or four days and spends close to Sh2 million. To remove it, you need a crane that can handle 60 to 70 tonnes, and the county does not have such a crane,” he said.
Alai highlighted James Gichuru Road as a striking example of what he termed visual pollution. He said the four-kilometre stretch hosts 82 billboards, nearly half of them belonging to a single company.
“Imagine four kilometres with 82 billboards. Even if you ignore the companies, just look at the visual clutter,” he said.
He added that existing regulations on spacing between billboards are routinely ignored.
“The minimum distance should be 100 to 200 metres, but now you find billboards just 30 metres apart, even around roundabouts,” Alai said.
He questioned how new billboards continue to appear despite a ban on approvals in 2025, claiming that bribes of up to Sh300,000 per billboard are paid to allow illegal installations.
Alai's accusations comes two days after Nairobi City County issued a strong warning to advertising firms contravening county laws with the focus on Lang’ata Road where rogue advertisers are accused of using criminal gangs to obstruct county officers during operations.
Urban Development and Planning Chief Officer Patrick Analo vowed zero tolerance for firms that flout planning laws or intimidate enforcement officers.
Analo warned that companies attempting to reinstall removed structures, or those using goons to derail enforcement, will face prosecution and the removal of up to five times more billboards as punitive action.
“This enforcement will not stop. Any advertiser who thinks they can beat the system through intimidation or illegal installations will face stiffer penalties,” Analo said, adding that fines of up to Sh2 million apply to firms erecting unapproved structures.
The December enforcement drive comes after a large-scale operation in November that led to the removal of 275 illegal billboards across the city, significantly surpassing the initial targets.
During that phase, authorities cleared major corridors including Lang’ata Road, Mombasa Road, Eastern Bypass, James Gichuru Road, Cotton Road and Ole Nguruone Street, as well as several key roundabouts.
Special focus was placed on sensitive routes such as the Eastern Bypass, a major entry point into Nairobi and a key link to JKIA and security installations, to enhance compliance and public safety.
