The street that carried a Queen’s name, gave it up for a First Lady’s — and became, in the process, the only major CBD road named after a woman for decades.
What Is Mama Ngina Street?
Mama Ngina Street is one of the most historically layered and commercially significant streets in Nairobi’s Central Business District, and the only major CBD road in Nairobi named after a woman for most of the city’s post-independence history. Running east to west through the upper CBD, it connects the junction of Moi Avenue and Kenyatta Avenue at its eastern end to the City Hall / Uhuru Highway area at its western end, threading through a densely built corridor of office towers, entertainment venues, craft markets, restaurants, and diplomatic buildings.
The street is where the Dedan Kimathi statue stands guard at its intersection with Kimathi Street — one of the most visited and photographed public monuments in Nairobi. It is where the IMAX cinema has operated in the 20th Century Building for decades. It is where Central Park — Nairobi’s formal civic green space — unfolds at the western end. And it is where the street’s own name carries a quiet significance: in a city map overwhelmingly dominated by the names of male politicians and administrators, Mama Ngina Street was, for decades, the lone feminine presence among Nairobi’s named thoroughfares.
Location: Nairobi Central Business District, Nairobi County, Kenya
Coordinates: 1°17′06″S 36°49′10″E (approximate midpoint)
Former name: Queensway (colonial era, to 1973)
Named after: Ngina Kenyatta — popularly known as Mama Ngina — Kenya’s first First Lady, wife of President Jomo Kenyatta and mother of President Uhuru Kenyatta
Key intersections: Moi Avenue (east), Kimathi Street, Kaunda Street, Standard Street, City Hall Way (west/south), Uhuru Highway (western approach)
Key landmarks: Dedan Kimathi Statue, IMAX Cinema (20th Century Building), Transnational Plaza, City Hall (adjacent), Central Park (western end)
The History of Mama Ngina Street: From Queensway to First Lady
Queensway: Named for a Queen Who Became Queen in Kenya (to 1973)
The colonial-era name of the street — Queensway — is connected to one of the most extraordinary historical coincidences involving Kenya and the British Crown. In her honour, the road leading from Government Road (Moi Avenue) to Parliament Road was named Queensway (Mama Ngina Street). This would forever cement Kenya as a darling in the British overseas dominions. Vocal Media
The street was named Queensway following Princess Elizabeth’s visit to Kenya in February 1952. Princess Elizabeth was deep in the Kenyan forest on the adventure of a lifetime, spotting wildlife from high up in the treetops, when her father died and she became queen. The world awoke on February 6, 1952, to the death of King George VI, who had succumbed during the night to lung cancer at the royal Sandringham residence in Norfolk. His 25-year-old daughter and heir to the throne only heard the news later the same day, when word reached Elizabeth thousands of miles from home in the wilderness of the Aberdare Range. Gulf News
It was therefore in Nairobi — not London, not Buckingham Palace — that Princess Elizabeth formally became Queen Elizabeth II, when the colonial Governor Sir Philip Mitchell read the proclamation of her ascension. Kenya holds the unique distinction in British history of being the country where the longest-reigning British monarch came to the throne. Naming the street Queensway was the colonial administration’s tribute to this historic coincidence.
The colonial city was already deeply entwined with the royal connection: In 1952, Nairobi also named its first dual carriage street Princess Elizabeth Highway in her honour. Today, her birthday gift — now Sagana State Lodge — is government property after she passed it over to Jomo Kenyatta. Daily Nation
Colonial Character: What Queensway Looked Like
During the colonial era, this road was called Queens Way. A coffee bar called Act 1 Scene 1 stood opposite the entrance of City Hall at Travel House, formerly UTC building. There was also the Twentieth Century cinema and Barclays Queensway branch retaining the name of the previous road title. The Standard
The street in its colonial form had a distinctly upscale, civic character — flanked by City Hall to its south, connected to the formal administrative core around Harambee Avenue (formerly Coronation Avenue), and home to entertainment and coffee-bar culture that served Nairobi’s settler and professional community. As Silopark House, people would park at the basement and cars would be lifted to an elevated parking bay. This kind of mechanical parking innovation speaks to Queensway’s early status as a modern, commercially ambitious street. The Standard
The 20th Century Cinema on Government Road (now re-named Mama Ngina Street) was built and opened around 1960. At the time it was the most luxurious cinema in the city. Cinema Treasures
Renamed Mama Ngina Street (1973)
Unlike most CBD street renamings, which happened in the first wave of independence renaming in 1964, Queensway kept its colonial name for a full decade after independence. On July 29, 1973, the council renamed Queen Elizabeth Way Waiyaki Way, and created Kipande Road and changed Queensway to Mama Ngina Street, after President Kenyatta’s last wife. Daily Nation
The 1973 renaming replaced one queen with another — but of a fundamentally different kind. Where Queensway honoured a foreign monarch at whose feet Kenya lay as a colony, Mama Ngina Street honoured an African woman whose husband had led the same country to independence from that monarchy. By erasing the memories of Queen Elizabeth II from its landscape, Kenya was putting behind an era that had brought painful legacies. Daily Nation
The Sole Female Name: A Significant but Complicated Distinction
For a long time, there was only one street named after a woman — Mama Ngina Street, Mzee Jomo Kenyatta’s wife. And later, after much lobbying, a street was named after Wangari Maathai, the 2004 Nobel Peace Prize winner. And in 2017, after the death of the firstborn daughter of Jomo Kenyatta, Margaret Wambui Kenyatta, Mugumo Road in Lavington was quietly renamed after her. The Conversation
Historians and scholars of Nairobi’s urban landscape have noted the ambiguity of this distinction. For decades, Mama Ngina Street was the lone prominent road named after a woman, and even that choice reflected dynastic power more than feminist revolution. The naming was essentially an act of presidential patronage — honouring the president’s wife because she was the president’s wife — rather than an independent recognition of a woman’s own contributions to the nation. Karen Plains Hotel
Nevertheless, the street’s name does hold a unique place in Nairobi’s toponymic landscape. In a city where the street map reads as a roll call of male politicians, freedom fighters, and colonial administrators, Mama Ngina Street stands as a lone feminine landmark — the only woman whose name occupies a major CBD address — and that singularity is itself historically significant.
Who Was Mama Ngina? The Woman Behind the Street
Early Life and Marriage
Ngina Kenyatta is the former First Lady of Kenya, widow of Mzee Jomo Kenyatta (the first president of Kenya), the mother of Uhuru Kenyatta (Kenya’s fourth president), and a recipient of the Macky Sall Prize for Dialogue in Africa (2019). She was born Ngina Muhoho on June 24, 1933, to Chief Muhoho wa Gathecha and Anne Nyokabi Muhoho at Ngenda, Kiambu District. She is known as Mama Ngina, the matriarch of the Kenyatta family. The daughter of wealthy, politically influential Chief Muhoho wa Gathecha, Ngina became the fourth and last wife of Mzee Jomo Kenyatta in 1952. BlackPast
At the time of her marriage, Jomo Kenyatta was in his mid-fifties and awaiting trial for his alleged role in the Mau Mau uprising. Mama Ngina was eighteen. The union carried significant political dimensions — the marriage had significant political benefits for Jomo Kenyatta due to her royal bloodline. BlackPast
First Lady of Independent Kenya (1963–1978)
As Kenya’s First Lady between 1963 and 1978, Mama Ngina was acknowledged as one of the most powerful persons in the country, in many ways the power behind the throne. Yet this power was exercised almost entirely in silence. Since she was thrust into public eye as a shy teenager bride to a much older Independence War hero, she hardly ever uttered a word in public. As First Lady, Mama Ngina was the quiet presence with a demure half-smile always walking one step behind the commanding figure of the liberation struggle hero. MonitorMonitor
She bore Kenyatta four children: Kristina Wambui, Uhuru Muigai (born 1961, later Kenya’s fourth president), Anna Nyokabi (Jeni), and Muhoho. She accompanied her husband during his years of exile at Lodwar and Maralal — a period of great hardship — and was present at every stage of the transition from colonial Kenya to independent republic.
On June 24, 2025, the former first lady marked her 92nd birthday, prompting warm tributes from citizens who regard her as a living chapter in the country’s history. Tuko News
The “First Mother” and the Kenyatta Dynasty
On her husband’s death in 1978, she gave up the duties of First Lady to retreat to private life overseeing phenomenal growth of a vast family fortune. Then was thrust back into centre stage again 35 years later in 2013 when her first-born son, Uhuru Muigai, followed in the footsteps of the departed family patriarch on election as President of Kenya. Daily Nation
The Kenyatta family — with Mama Ngina at its matriarchal centre — is often described as Kenya’s most powerful political dynasty: a mother who was First Lady to the first president, and whose son became the fourth. The street named after her in 1973 thus carries a doubled resonance in the present day — the name of the woman who was, in a real sense, at the origin point of Kenya’s most consequential political family.
Landmarks and Key Places on Mama Ngina Street
1. Dedan Kimathi Statue (Junction of Mama Ngina Street and Kimathi Street)
The most famous landmark directly on Mama Ngina Street — visible from both ends of the street’s junction with Kimathi Street — is the 2.1-metre bronze statue of Field Marshal Dedan Kimathi, mounted on a graphite plinth at the intersection.
The statue’s impressive visage pertains to military regalia, and it is situated at the junction of Mama Ngina Street and Kimathi Street. The statue is in the middle of a busy traffic junction — where Mama Ngina Street meets Kimathi Street. And because it is immersed in both vehicular and pedestrian traffic, viewers are treated to short interrupted glances of Kimathi, atop a pyramid-like plinth that was designed by members of Kenyatta University’s Department of Fine Arts. CityseekerExplore-vc
Unveiled in February 2007 to mark the 50th anniversary of Kimathi’s execution, the statue depicts him holding a rifle in his right hand and a dagger in his left — the last weapons he carried in his fight against British colonial rule. For Gen Z protesters in 2024 and 2025, it became an iconic rallying point, connecting the independence generation’s resistance to their own.
Visiting: Free, accessible 24 hours. Best viewed on foot from the pedestrian crossing at the Mama Ngina Street / Kimathi Street junction.
2. IMAX Cinema / Anga IMAX (20th Century Building, Mama Ngina Street)
The 20th Century Cinema on Government Road (now re-named Mama Ngina Street) was built and opened around 1960. At the time it was the most luxurious cinema in the city. Cinema Treasures
The 20th Century Building and its IMAX cinema have been one of the street’s defining landmarks for over six decades. Anga IMAX is located at the 20th Century building along Mama Ngina Street. The big theatrical hall with 279 seats is equipped with the necessary equipment of best quality: 20K IMAX Luminas projectors, 17x9m silver screen, 12KWT IMAX sound system, stage, air-conditioning and ventilation. FindGlocal
The cinema’s history tracks the arc of Nairobi’s entertainment culture from colonial luxury to post-independence popular culture to the digital age. Very fond memories of this theater from when I was a youth in the early 80s. More than once a James Bond film festival would run, usually coinciding with the latest Roger Moore installment. Odeon had daily shows starting from 1pm to 9pm. What a privilege to say I’ve seen every one of them, from Dr. No to A View to a Kill, on such a luxurious large screen! Cinema Treasures
The cinema closed during the Covid-19 pandemic and was temporarily converted to other uses, but IMAX screenings have since resumed at this location. Confirm current showings and ticket prices at anga.today.
Address: 1st Floor, 20th Century Building, opposite Transnational Plaza, Mama Ngina Street | Phone: +254 720 145146
3. Transnational Plaza (Mama Ngina Street)
Transnational Plaza is a building in Nairobi County, Kenya which is located on Mama Ngina Street. Transnational Plaza is situated nearby to the movie theater IMAX, as well as near the town hall Nairobi City Hall. One of the major commercial office buildings on the street, Transnational Plaza houses a mix of offices, businesses, and service providers including international logistics companies. Its position opposite the 20th Century Building makes it one of the street’s most-used navigation landmarks. Mapcarta
4. City Hall (Adjacent, City Hall Way)
City Hall — the seat of the Nairobi City County Government — is immediately adjacent to the western section of Mama Ngina Street, at the City Hall Way junction. The City Hall building, completed in the early 1960s, is a significant piece of civic architecture and the administrative headquarters of Kenya’s most populous county. A famous coffee bar called Act 1 Scene 1 stood opposite the entrance of City Hall at Travel House, formerly UTC building. Kenyans.co.ke
City Hall houses the offices of the Nairobi County Governor, the County Assembly, and the administrative departments that manage city services for the roughly 4.8 million residents of Nairobi County.
5. Central Park (Western End of Mama Ngina Street)
At the western end of Mama Ngina Street, where it approaches Uhuru Highway and the Nairobi Gallery junction, lies Central Park — Nairobi’s formal civic green space, more manicured and enclosed than the larger Uhuru Park across the highway. Central Park contains the Nyayo Monument (a four-sided Italian marble obelisk commissioned by President Moi in 1988 to mark his tenth year in office, which appeared on Kenya’s old KES 100 note), ornamental gardens, walking paths, and benches. It is bounded by the Nairobi Serena Hotel to its northwest and All Saints’ Cathedral to its south.
The park functions as a quiet civic escape from the CBD’s intensity — not large enough to get lost in, but spacious enough to eat lunch, read, or simply breathe between buildings.
6. Craft Markets and Art Shops (Mama Ngina Street)
Along Mama Ngina Street you will find the iconic IMAX movie theater, Potters House, Hakuna Crafts, Maru Art Gallery, Mama Ngina Café, and Highlands. If you are looking for handmade wood carvings and artwork, Mama Ngina Street is the place to be. Ghetto Radio
Mama Ngina Street has a well-established reputation as one of the CBD’s better destinations for Kenyan crafts, woodcarvings, beadwork, and art — distinct from the more chaotic market environment of City Market (on Muindi Mbingu Street) and more accessible than the rotating Maasai Market. Several small galleries and craft shops line the street, selling work by Kenyan artists at prices that are negotiable and generally fair.
7. DHL Express International House (Mama Ngina Street)
The presence of DHL Express in International House on Mama Ngina Street reflects the street’s character as part of Nairobi’s professional services and logistics district — well-connected, internationally oriented, and positioned between the civic (City Hall) and financial (Kimathi Street/Kenyatta Avenue banking corridor) cores of the CBD.
8. Cold Stone Creamery (Mama Ngina Street)
One of Nairobi’s most popular ice cream chains occupies a Mama Ngina Street address — a small but telling indicator of the street’s social character. Located within the busy pedestrian corridor between the IMAX area and City Hall, it attracts a steady stream of CBD workers, families, and weekend visitors who combine the Central Park area with a post-park treat.
Mama Ngina Street as a Walking Street
Mama Ngina Street has one of the more pleasant walking environments in the Nairobi CBD. Compared to the matatu-heavy congestion of Tom Mboya Street and Ronald Ngala Street, or the banking-district formality of Kenyatta Avenue, Mama Ngina Street has a more mixed pedestrian energy — commercial and civic and recreational at once, with the presence of the Kimathi statue at one end and Central Park at the other giving it natural anchors.
The stretch between the Kimathi statue junction and the 20th Century / IMAX Building is particularly lively during business hours and early evenings, with workers, shoppers, cinema-goers, and craft-market browsers all sharing the pavement. The section approaching City Hall and Central Park is broader and less congested, with more green space visible.
Eating, Drinking, and Entertainment on Mama Ngina Street
IMAX / Anga IMAX (20th Century Building): The primary entertainment venue — blockbuster films on a 17×9 metre silver screen with IMAX sound. The longest-running cinema in Nairobi’s CBD and a cultural institution for Nairobians who grew up watching James Bond films in the same building their parents did. Confirm current programming at anga.today.
Mama Ngina Café: A local café bearing the street’s name, offering coffee, light meals, and snacks in an accessible, working-Nairobi atmosphere.
Eco Café (Mama Ngina Street): A popular café-restaurant open daily 7:00 AM–10:00 PM, offering a relaxed environment for coffee, meals, and remote working.
Highlands Restaurant: One of Nairobi’s established CBD lunch spots, accessible from Mama Ngina Street, known for Kenyan and continental cuisine at mid-range prices.
Cold Stone Creamery (Mama Ngina Street): Premium ice cream with mix-ins — a popular spot for families and post-work treats.
Barclays Queensway (now Absa Bank, Mama Ngina Street): One of the rare colonial-era naming survivals — the bank branch that retained its original “Queensway” designation long after the street itself was renamed. The branch name has since been updated as the broader Barclays-to-Absa rebrand took effect in Kenya, but its heritage reflects the street’s layered naming history.
Sarova Stanley Hotel (adjacent, Kimathi Street junction): The nearest upscale dining option — the Thorn Tree Café and Exchange Bar are a short walk from Mama Ngina Street’s eastern end.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Mama Ngina Street in Nairobi?
Mama Ngina Street is a major east-west street in Nairobi’s Central Business District, running from Moi Avenue in the east to City Hall Way and Uhuru Highway in the west. It is home to the Dedan Kimathi statue (at the Kimathi Street junction), the IMAX cinema in the 20th Century Building, Transnational Plaza, City Hall (adjacent), and Central Park at its western end. It was formerly known as Queensway during the colonial era and was renamed in 1973 to honour Ngina Kenyatta — Kenya’s first First Lady and the mother of President Uhuru Kenyatta.
Why is it called Mama Ngina Street?
Queensway was changed to Mama Ngina Street, after President Kenyatta’s last wife. Mama Ngina — born Ngina Muhoho in 1933 — served as Kenya’s First Lady from 1963 to 1978 during the presidency of Jomo Kenyatta. She is also the mother of Uhuru Kenyatta, Kenya’s fourth president. The renaming occurred in 1973, making it one of the later CBD street renamings, a full decade after independence. For a long time, there was only one street named after a woman — Mama Ngina Street — in Nairobi’s CBD. Daily NationThe Conversation
What was Mama Ngina Street previously called?
Mama Ngina Street was formerly known as Queensway. In her honour, the road leading from Government Road (Moi Avenue) to Parliament Road was named Queensway. The name honoured Princess Elizabeth (later Queen Elizabeth II), who ascended to the British throne while visiting Kenya in February 1952 — the first time in over 200 years that a British monarch had acceded to the throne while abroad. The street retained the name Queensway from around 1952 until 1973, when it was renamed Mama Ngina Street. Vocal Media
Is Mama Ngina Street the only CBD street named after a woman?
Yes, for decades it was the only major CBD street in Nairobi named after a woman. For a long time, there was only one street named after a woman — Mama Ngina Street, Mzee Jomo Kenyatta’s wife. And later, after much lobbying, a street was named after Wangari Maathai, the 2004 Nobel Peace Prize winner. And in 2017, after the death of the firstborn daughter of Jomo Kenyatta, Margaret Wambui Kenyatta, Mugumo Road in Lavington was quietly renamed after her. Wangari Maathai Road is in Westlands, not the CBD, making Mama Ngina Street effectively the sole feminine presence in the CBD’s named thoroughfares. The Conversation
Where is the Dedan Kimathi statue in relation to Mama Ngina Street?
The statue is in the middle of a busy traffic junction — where Mama Ngina Street meets Kimathi Street. The 2.1-metre bronze statue stands on a graphite plinth at this intersection, with Mama Ngina Street running east-west and Kimathi Street running north-south past it. The statue faces outward onto the junction, visible from multiple directions. The nearest hotel is the Sarova Stanley, approximately 150 metres away on Kimathi Street. Explore-vc
Where is the IMAX cinema on Mama Ngina Street?
The IMAX Theatre is located at the 1st Floor, 20th Century Building, Opposite Trans National House, Near City Hall, Mama Ngina Street, Nairobi. Anga IMAX — as it now operates under — has a 279-seat theatre with a 17×9 metre silver screen. The 20th Century Building is one of the most recognisable structures on Mama Ngina Street and a long-standing Nairobi CBD entertainment landmark. Confirm current screenings and ticket prices at anga.today. KenyaBuzz
Where does Mama Ngina Street start and end?
Mama Ngina Street runs roughly east to west through Nairobi’s upper CBD. Its eastern end connects with Moi Avenue and Kenyatta Avenue near the Hilton Hotel / Kimathi Street area. Its western end approaches City Hall Way, Uhuru Highway, and Central Park. The Dedan Kimathi statue sits at the Kimathi Street junction near the eastern end; the 20th Century / IMAX Building is in the mid-section; City Hall is adjacent at the western approach; and Central Park and the Nairobi Gallery are at the Uhuru Highway end.
What is the connection between Mama Ngina Street and Queen Elizabeth II?
The street’s former name — Queensway — was given in honour of Princess Elizabeth’s February 1952 visit to Kenya, during which her father died and she became queen. Kenya, then a British colony, was the first stop on Elizabeth’s tour of the Commonwealth. She became Queen Elizabeth II in Nairobi, and the road was named in her honour. When Kenya’s post-independence government renamed it in 1973, the transformation was symbolically complete: a street named after a British queen who had overseen the colonial period was renamed after the wife of the African president who had ended that period. Gulf News
Who is Mama Ngina and why is she significant?
Ngina Kenyatta (Mama Ngina) is the former First Lady of Kenya, widow of Mzee Jomo Kenyatta (the first president of Kenya), the mother of Uhuru Kenyatta (Kenya’s fourth president). Born in 1933, she served as First Lady from 1963 to 1978. As Kenya’s First Lady between 1963 and 1978, and then again as ‘First Mother’ from 2013, Mama Ngina was acknowledged as one of the most powerful persons in the country, in many ways the power behind the throne. She turned 92 in June 2025 and remains a living figure in Kenyan national life. BlackPastMonitor
Is Mama Ngina Street safe to walk?
During business hours, Mama Ngina Street is one of the more walkable CBD streets. The City Hall area and Central Park end is particularly open and well-maintained. The commercial section around the IMAX and Kimathi Street junction is busy but generally navigable. Standard CBD safety precautions apply: keep your phone in your pocket rather than visibly in your hand, hold bags close, and be aware of your surroundings near busy intersections. For evening visits — the IMAX cinema draws people into the evening — use Uber or Bolt rather than walking to and from the area after dark.
What shopping is on Mama Ngina Street?
Mama Ngina Street is one of the CBD’s better streets for Kenyan crafts, art, and handmade goods. Along Mama Ngina Street you will find Potters House, Hakuna Crafts, Maru Art Gallery, and Highlands. If you are looking for handmade wood carvings and artwork, Mama Ngina Street is the place to be. Prices are generally fair and negotiation is expected. For fashion and general retail, several shops occupy the mid-section of the street. Ghetto Radio
The Naming Paradox: A Woman’s Name on a City That Forgets Women
Mama Ngina Street holds a peculiar distinction in Nairobi’s urban landscape — it is the lone feminine marking in a CBD map otherwise saturated with male names. And yet, as historians and urban scholars have observed, the choice of whose name to use tells its own story.
For decades, Mama Ngina Street was the lone prominent road named after a woman, and even that choice reflected dynastic power more than feminist revolution. Mama Ngina was named on the street not because of her own independent political, intellectual, or civic achievements — but because she was President Kenyatta’s wife. The honour flowed from her relationship to a man, not from her own standing. Karen Plains Hotel
This does not diminish the street itself, nor the woman whose name it carries. Mama Ngina Kenyatta is, by any measure, a historically significant figure — present at the founding of the nation, instrumental in her husband’s support during the years of imprisonment and exile, an influential force in Kenyan politics for six decades, and still living at 92 in 2025. But the story of how her name came to occupy the CBD’s only female street address does reveal something important about how post-independence Kenya understood women’s place in the national narrative.
How streets are named, or renamed, serves as an important indicator of the values of a society — and what those in power might want to remember, or forget. In this case, Nairobi’s patriarchal political culture honoured a woman by honouring the president’s connection to her. It took until the late 2000s for Wangari Maathai — a Nobel Prize laureate who earned her recognition through decades of her own civic courage — to get a street in Westlands. And the gap between those two names, and what they represent, is one of the more instructive details in the whole history of Nairobi’s streets. The Conversation
Getting Around Mama Ngina Street
On foot: Mama Ngina Street is walkable in its entirety during daylight hours. The City Hall / Central Park end is particularly pleasant — broader, less trafficked, with green space visible. The commercial mid-section and the Kimathi Street junction are busier but manageable. The full length end to end is approximately 700 metres — about a 10-minute walk at a moderate pace.
By matatu: Mama Ngina Street does not have its own dedicated matatu stage, but is served by nearby stages. The GPO stage on Kenyatta Avenue (adjacent at the eastern end) serves Ngong Road routes. Kencom stage on City Hall Way (immediately south) serves western suburbs. Tom Mboya Street stages (a short walk east) serve northern and eastern routes.
By ride-hailing: Uber and Bolt both work well here. The Sarova Stanley Hotel area on Kimathi Street (one block) or the City Hall Way area are the easiest pickup points. During peak hours, calling your driver to Mama Ngina Street itself can lead to confusion — designate a specific building (20th Century Building or City Hall Way junction) as your meeting point.
Parking: The Judiciary Car Park on Taifa Road is approximately 220 metres from Mama Ngina Street and is one of the more accessible parking options for visitors. City Hall also has limited parking for official visitors.
What to See Near Mama Ngina Street
Dedan Kimathi Statue (at Mama Ngina / Kimathi Street junction): Free, 24-hour access. One of Nairobi’s most photographed public monuments.
Kimathi Street (immediately north from the statue junction): Sarova Stanley Hotel, IPS Building, Nation Centre, K’Osewe Ranalo Foods, nightlife venues. Nairobi’s most complete CBD street experience.
Kenyatta Avenue (immediately south at the eastern end): The CBD’s main boulevard — War Memorial, banks, Sarova Stanley, Nairobi Serena Hotel at the far end.
City Hall (adjacent, City Hall Way): Nairobi County headquarters. Significant colonial-era civic architecture.
Central Park (western end): Civic green space, Nyayo Monument, walking paths. Nairobi Serena Hotel overlooks the park.
Nairobi Gallery (Kenyatta Avenue / Uhuru Highway junction, at western approach): National monument and art gallery housing the Murumbi African Heritage Collection. Built 1913 at Nairobi’s “Point Zero.” Affordable entry; open Tuesday–Sunday.
Cathedral Basilica of the Holy Family (City Hall Way, approximately 450 metres): The seat of the Catholic Archdiocese of Nairobi — a striking piece of ecclesiastical architecture, open to visitors.
All Saints’ Cathedral (Kenyatta Avenue, opposite Nairobi Serena Hotel): Anglican cathedral, openly accessible, at the western end of the Kenyatta Avenue / Mama Ngina Street corridor.
Moi Avenue (one block east): Tom Mboya Monument, Kenya National Archives, Jeevanjee Gardens, August 7th Memorial Park.
Practical Visitor Information
Best time to visit: Mama Ngina Street is most animated during CBD business hours (8 AM–6 PM) on weekdays. The IMAX cinema draws visitors in the evenings, particularly on weekends. For the craft shops and galleries, business hours are typically 9 AM–6 PM Monday–Saturday. Central Park and the City Hall / Dedan Kimathi statue area are accessible at all hours but most pleasant during daylight.
How long to spend: A focused walk along Mama Ngina Street — including the Kimathi statue, the 20th Century Building, a stop at a craft shop, and a look at Central Park — takes approximately 45 minutes to 1 hour. Combined with Kimathi Street (Sarova Stanley, IPS Building, K’Osewe Ranalo Foods) and the Nairobi Gallery, allow 2.5–3 hours for a full heritage walking circuit of the upper CBD.
Photography: The Dedan Kimathi statue is a popular photography spot — approach from the pedestrian crossing at the Mama Ngina / Kimathi Street junction for the clearest unobstructed view. The City Hall building is photogenic from the Mama Ngina Street approach. Central Park’s Nyayo Monument and garden setting photograph well in morning light.
Currency: Kenyan Shillings. Carry small denominations for craft shops (KES 500, 1,000, 2,000), where prices are rarely fixed. Cafés and the IMAX cinema typically accept Visa and M-Pesa.
Mama Ngina Street at a Glance
| Detail | Information |
|---|---|
| Official name | Mama Ngina Street |
| Former name | Queensway (to 1973) |
| Named after | Ngina Kenyatta (Mama Ngina) — Kenya’s first First Lady, born 1933 |
| Renamed | 29 July 1973 |
| Location | Nairobi Central Business District |
| Runs from | Moi Avenue / Kenyatta Avenue junction (east) to City Hall Way / Uhuru Highway (west) |
| Approximate length | 700 metres |
| Key intersections | Moi Avenue, Kimathi Street, Kaunda Street, Standard Street, City Hall Way |
| Key landmarks | Dedan Kimathi Statue (Kimathi Street junction), IMAX Cinema (20th Century Building), Transnational Plaza, City Hall (adjacent), Central Park (western end) |
| Significant firsts | Only major CBD street named after a woman for most of Nairobi’s post-independence history |
| Colonial name origin | Named Queensway after Princess Elizabeth’s 1952 Kenya visit, during which she became Queen Elizabeth II |
| Mama Ngina’s connection to presidents | Wife of Kenya’s 1st president (Jomo Kenyatta); mother of Kenya’s 4th president (Uhuru Kenyatta) |
| Entertainment | IMAX cinema (20th Century Building) — 279 seats, IMAX Luminas projection, Anga operating brand |
| Shopping | Hakuna Crafts, Maru Art Gallery, Potters House — handmade Kenyan art and woodcarvings |
| Dining | Mama Ngina Café, Eco Café, Cold Stone Creamery, Highlands Restaurant; Sarova Stanley Thorn Tree (adjacent) |
| Best for | Heritage walking, public art, crafts shopping, cinema, Central Park green space |
| Transport | GPO stage (Kenyatta Avenue adjacent), Kencom (City Hall Way); Uber/Bolt throughout |
| Safety | Generally safe during business hours; standard CBD precautions; ride-hailing after dark |
| Nearby | Kimathi Street (north), Kenyatta Avenue (south/east), Moi Avenue (east), City Hall (adjacent), Central Park (west), Nairobi Gallery (western end), Cathedral Basilica of Holy Family (south) |
| Street character | Civic-commercial by day; entertainment and craft destination in evenings; protest-adjacent (Kimathi statue) |