My Hood: How London Estate Got its Name

On the outskirts of Nakuru City is London Estate situated in London Ward of Nakuru West sub county.

The estate borders Nakuru GK Prison to the North, Industrial Area to the South, Nakuru ASK Show ground to the West and Kiamunyi estate to the East.

London is characterized by good tarmacked feeder roads, thanks to the World Bank’s project on informal settlements upgrade.

Locals say that years ago there lived a white man around Hilton and Guba who was from the UK hence residents baptized the area ‘London’.

Sammy Macharia who is in his late 30s, and a resident of the area since childhood says since then, there has never been plans to change the name.

He adds that the improved infrastructure has added on to the aesthetics of the estate making it answer to the name unlike before when the estate’s drainage and sewerage system was poor.

And if you thought Galilee is only found in Israel (Biblical), then you are wrong. In London Estate is a village called Galilaya.

An interaction with the locals in the area reveals that the village was nicknamed Galilaya due to the presence of many members of the Akorino denomination.

A walk around the estate reveals a number of wines and spirits shops which residents say have replaced entertainment joints that existed before.

On the other side of the estate sits the Nakuru City dumpsite Giotto which before had a lot of odour until in 2020 when the County Government stepped in with rehabilitation.

One local who spoke to this writer on anonymity revealed that unemployment among youth in the area saw many engage in criminal activities that led to the imprisonment of many around 1998 towards millennium.

London Estate is divided into two, upper London and Lower London with the majority of tenants on the lower part being students.

According to Macharia, the students prefer lower London estate due to the enhanced security, proximity to their Higher learning institutions as well as better services such as water unlike the upper London.

Sentiments echoed by Sheila Njeri- a student in one of the universities who alludes that as students they prefer taking a house however expensive it is but share the expenses amongst themselves.

Perhaps this is the reason why among many residents of Nakuru City, London is also referred to as ‘Students’ estate’.

On the other hand, in Upper London where even the area MP Samuel Arama has a residential home, life is tough with many services such as water and health facilities missing.

Tom Nandi from the Residents Association says it is time for London to have improved services among them ensuring a health facility for the community.

 pmambili@googlemail.com