Citizen TV's news anchor Trevor Ombija was on Wednesday, October 12 pressed to clarify his sentiments after a video clip of him opposing the move to close noisy entertainment joints went viral.
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Trevor Ombija defends his restaurant as crackdown on noisy entertainment joints intensifies
Citizen TV news anchor, Trevor Ombija was forced to clarify his soundproofing claims after a social media discord.
Citizen TV's anchor, Trevor Ombija
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In a tweet that the journalist shared on his handle, he defended his idea of wanting to soundproof the house of one of the complainants as the last resort saying the complaints from the neighbor were because he had not offered the landscaping job to her.
He further explained that his restaurant had adhered to the requests of the neighbors and reduced the volume completely and most of them were okay with the attempts to work on the noise menace.
"I have a neighbor who wanted us to shut down because I did not give her a landscaping job. We reduced our volume completely all other neighbors were ok with our attempts, except her so I offered to go the extra mile of soundproofing as a last resort she still refused," Ombija tweeted.
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All this turn of events came after a clip of Ombija went out as he defended the inclusion of his restaurant, Samaki Samaki Seafood & Jazz Restaurant in the list of 43 entertainment joints that were listed for closure by the County Government of Nairobi.
Citizen TV’s Trevor Ombija
Citizen TV’s Trevor Ombija
Pulse Live Kenya
READ ALSO: Trevor Ombija joins Ramogi TV [Video]
The clip was shared by the Member of the County Assembly (MCA) for Kileleshwa Robert Alai who could not believe that one could offer to soundproof homes over working on the noise coming from their entertainment joints.
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Robert Alai has been on the frontline in pushing for the shutting down of clubs over noise pollution after several complaints reached his desk which led to the listing of some of the clubs that were earmarked for the shut.
The clip was recorded on Tuesday, October 11 when Nairobi Deputy Governor Njoroge Muchiri met the owners of the 43 affected bars at Ngong Hills Hotel and held a session in which they raised their objections.
It is in that session that Ombija aired his complaints over the inclusion of his restaurant in the list of the entertainment joints that had been identified for closure saying he had initiated measures to reduce the noise coming from his joint.
Journalist Trevor Ombija
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READ: Biography: Trevor Ombija
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He went ahead and made a proposal saying that the closure of entertainment should follow a protocol where at least half of the residential neighbors near the joints should present a signed petition.
"I’d like to propose as the chair has said, when there is a complaint against a bar owner or a restaurant, let us have more than half of the people complaining. If the apartments are 20, 15 of them should show us their lease, signed, and tell us this is the problem," Ombija proposed in the shared video clip.
Ombija went ahead to explain the circumstances under which his offer of soundproofing a house came about.
"This particular neighbor of mine, I even offered to soundproof her house, starting by her room. She said no, it has to be her entire house. Then I said okay, for me to do any soundproofing, I need to get a permit from the county government. Show me your lease and get permission from your landlord so that they are okay with me soundproofing your apartment. She refused," he added.
While issuing the closure notice of the clubs on October 3, Nairobi County’s Director of Liquor Licensing Hesbon Angwena, said residents and members of the general public had complained about noise coming from the 43 clubs.
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