Police chiefs in Taita Taveta have been recalled to Nairobi for probe over the execution of demolitions that left more than 3,000 families homeless in Voi.
Inspector General of Police Japhet Koome said an inquiry file has been opened into the violent land eviction exercise that has since caused an uproar.
Among those recalled are the Coast regional police commanders, the Taita Taveta county police commander and the Voi subcounty police commander.
IG Koome said the investigation will be carried out on how the exercise was conducted and if those who participated or ordered the same are found culpable they may be punished.
He added that action will be taken against any officer found culpable of carrying out the said demolition without the necessary authorisation.
It emerged the plan to demolish the houses was not shared among top officials in Nairobi as should be the case.
Azimio chief Raila Odinga, together with Taita Taveta county leaders, have since condemned the demolitions.
“From Mavoko to Kakamega, Thika, and Mombasa and today in Voi, the government seems to be pursuing a policy of evicting people from their settlements using utmost pain inflicted at the most desperate moments," Raila said in a statement.
The Saturday demolitions left more than 3,000 families homeless in the Msambweni estate in Voi.
The demolitions which were carried out under tight police security saw residents lose property worth millions of shillings including household items.
Emotions ran high as tens of affected people watched afar as bulldozers descended on their houses, leaving a trail of rubble.
Many of the residents tried in vain to salvage the little they could in the early morning demolitions.
“It is a sad moment for everyone here. All our properties are gone and we don’t know where to go,” Mildred Wabosha, a resident lamented.
She asked the government to intervene and help them retain their plots.
“This is unfair because our parents genuinely own the land. Our forefathers lived here for decades and nobody should kick us out of our ancestral land,” she added.
The 54.26 hectares parcel of land has been the centre of a battle between the residents and Sparkle Properties Limited.
The residents said that the land is an ancestral land which they claim to have lived on since 1938.
Sparkle Properties Limited on the other hand claims that they bought the land from Bata Shoe Company.
The company had obtained a court order seeking to evict the more than 500 households at the plot L.R. NO. 1956/506 to pave the way for development.
Efforts by local leaders led by Governor Andrew Mwadime, legislators Khamisi Chome (Voi), Danson Mwashako (Wundanyi), Senator Jones Mwaruma and a number of MCAs to stop the demolitions were futile.
The leaders who were ordered not to interfere with the exercise watched helplessly as the destruction went on.
They asked the state to halt the ongoing demolitions to pave the way for further negotiations between the company and residents.
The leaders further want the government to acquire the disputed land through compulsory acquisition to settle the devastated residents.
“The negotiation process is ongoing and we are shocked by what has happened today. The investor has gone ahead to evict people in total disregard of the talks,” Governor Mwadime said.
Mwadime accused top government officials of hatching a plan to evict residents from their land.
He said the National Government Administration Officers in the county had refused to respond to distress calls of residents and instead gone into hiding.
Taita Taveta Woman Rep Lydia Haika termed the eviction inhuman, noting that county leaders will join hands in seeking a lasting solution.
“This action, perceived as unjust, is particularly troubling as these residents have established homes in the area over many years. Active measures are being taken to prevent further evictions, with authorities diligently working towards a resolution for this pressing issue,” Haika said.
Opposition leader Raila Odinga in a statement lamented that the Kenya Kwanza administration has opted for forceful evictions and demolition of settlements as the preferred way of acquiring or settling land disputes.
“This is happening in the middle of difficult economic times, and as parents prepare to send their children to school on Monday. Kenyans don’t deserve this amount of cruelty,” the statement reads.
Raila further asked President William Ruto to immediately stop the demolitions currently underway in Voi and any other part of the country.
“Ruto promised that where necessary, affected people would be provided with enough notice and compensation promptly paid. Victims of ongoing evictions in Voi and other parts of the country are waiting for these promises to be kept,” Raila added.
The Azimio leader appealed to humanitarian organisations and human rights bodies to move in and help the affected people access the basics that they need and pursue justice.