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Eastleigh is a suburb of Nairobi, Kenya. It is located east of the central business district. Like most eastern suburbs in Nairobi, its residents represent mostly the middle class. Many Somali refugees have settled in Eastleigh.
Eastleigh has become an international business center with bustling and booming imported products from China, Dubai,India and Thailand. Since 1992, numerous expansive shopping centers have come up. The shopping complexes prominently known as Garissa Lodge, supply clothing, electronics and other goods supplied to the rest of the African continent.
Eastleigh was founded in 1921. The colonial government allotted Nairobi's residential estates by race, and Eastleigh was set aside for Asians and elite Africans [1]. Eastleigh was originally a large Kenyan Asian enclave until independence in 1963 and after their migration en masse, the majority of houses by 1970 were owned by Kikuyu landlords but there was a significant Somali presence at the time.
Eastleigh hosts numerous primary and secondary schools. Although roads leading to Eastleigh from its surrounding areas are in good shape, those within and around the shopping complex are badly beaten. Various matatu lines cut through the 1st and 2nd avenues, the two major roads in the area.
The Eastleigh Airport (Moi Air Base) is located in northern part of Eastleigh.
Administratively, Eastleigh is divided into Eastleigh North and Eastleigh South. Both are part of the Pumwani division of Nairobi. Within Eastleigh, there are three sections and these are Section I from Juja Road, Section II, where most of the activities of Eastleigh takes place, and finally, Section II towards Jomo Kenyatta Airport (JKIA).
Eastleigh is sometimes referred to as a 'city within a city." for simply having all the amenity of a city. The unfortunate thing is that Eastleigh nowadays has no government services or any sort of sound public services from sewage to proper schools. This section of Nairobi deserves even its own higher education and a major medical facility and some sort of government offices for the simple fact of having such a huge population.
