Lillian Tower, a 16 floor storey building stands out to be the most creative Tower in the capital City of Kenya.
The Tower which takes the shape of a maize cob has a conical shape.
It houses the Nairobi Safari Club which has about 140 all-suitr apartment.
The tower is situated along University way opposite University of Nairobi.
The construction of Lillian Tower which began in 1954 has a bitter history.
During the colonial era, there was a council by-aw that prohibited construction of more than six floors in the vicinity of the CentralnPolice Station within Nairobi.
When the owner, a prominent business man and a politician Mr. Stanley Githunguri sought approval from the then Nairobi mayor Andrew Ngumba, he was denied the permit.
Not giving up on his idea, Githunguri turned yo Late Mzee Jomo Kenyatta who intervened resulting to the approval of construction of the tower.
The approval marked the beginning of tall storey building cropping within vicinities of Nairobi region.
Here is the conversation between Githunguri, Late Kenyatta and Mayor Ngumba on how the permit was granted.
“I came to know about this by-law when I took the drawing of my 16-floor hotel project to City Council offices. I was denied approval on the basis of the 1954 by-law. I tried to talk to everybody, including the mayor who was then Andrew Ngumba, to no avail. I finally went to see Mzee Kenyatta in Gatundu (his rural home). I showed him my drawings and told him I could not proceed with the project because of a by-law passed by a white man before independence. He was not amused. He, in my presence, telephoned the mayor,” he says.
This is how Mr Githunguri recalls the conversation:
“Ngumba, if I wanted to build a house all the way to heaven, would you have a problem with it?”
“No, Mzee. I would have no problem with it.’’
“If that is so, why do you deny Githunguri approval to build his 16 storeys because of a 1954 by-law?” Pushed to a corner, Ngumba replied that he, similarly, would not have any problem with Githunguri’s project.
“Do you have his drawings there at City Hall?”
“Yes, Mzee. They are here.”
“Do you have a rubber stamp that says ‘approved’? Kenyatta asked.
“Yes, Mzee, I have it.’’
“I’m heading to State House. I want to find you there with the drawings duly approved,” the President said and hung up.
“When we got to State House, Ngumba was already there waiting with the drawings stamped ‘approved.’”
He was then asked to review outdated laws.
“Ngumba, that small stamp of yours will one day land you in trouble.”
The building, whose design is compared to a maize cob, was completed in the early 1980s.
