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Agony in Mukuru as demolitions persist

Government maintains victims were compensated and asked to vacate in good time

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by MAUREEN KINYANJUI

News14 November 2021 - 20:00
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In Summary


  • •The Nairobi Metropolitan Services in conjunction with security officers are overseeing the demolition of informal structures that had sprung up, with residents urged to cooperate with contractors.
Children sit next to their household items after houses were demolished in Mukuru kwa Njenga on November 13, 2021

Hundreds of residents of Mukuru kwa Njenga slums in Nairobi are agonising over their next move after the government demolished their houses to pave way for a vital city link road.

The government insists those living on road reserves must vacate for the expansion of Catherine Ndereba road in the expansive settlement. It will link the area to the Nairobi Expressway.

Authorities say the residents were given notices to move out in good time. 

On Saturday night, the demolitions persisted with bulldozers bringing down tens of shanties.

“All my household items were buried under the debris. It has been three weeks now and I don't have another house or another business to start," resident Yvonne Nafula told the Star on Sunday.

She is among many whose houses were flattened.

“We have children who are supposed to be in school on Monday. They are even more confuse than us,” Robert Omollo, another resident said.

Many families, including children and old women spent the night in the cold and were due to undergo the same experience Sunday after their structures were demolished.

Many victims sought refuge at local churches and schools.

“We have been treated like refugees in our own country. If the government can do this us, who will fight for our rights?” Herman Kamau said.

City authorities say those affected had been compensated before the start of the demolitions on October 12.

The affected had been talked to and even compensated. We contacted all concerned parties and it started a month ago,” Nairobi regional commissioner James Kianda said.

He added, “This road will act as an exit from the Expressway at a link road that is being constructed around City Cabanas junction. Businesses that are situated along the road, like Jua Kali, are expected to pick up.”

The administrator admitted many residents had been adversely impacted by the demolition and promised help.

I know many are homeless and need food and other amenities to move on with life. We will deal with it,” Kianda said.

Officers from the Nairobi Metropolitan Services are overseeing the demolitions in conjunction with police officers.

They urged residents to cooperate.

 

In July, President Uhuru Kenyatta told Nairobi residents to brace for more demolitions as the government focuses on reclaiming grabbed sewerage land.

In April last year, more than 5,000 residents of Kariobangi were left homeless after the state demolished their houses to repossess grabbed Dandora Estate Waste Sewerage Plant land.

The demolition caused an uproar from politicians who accused the state of inhumane evictions. 

It came at a time when the capital was in lockdown with a dusk-to-dawn curfew across the country.

Two weeks later, another 1,500 city residents were left in the cold after their homes were demolished in Ruai.

The government said they had grabbed a disputed 3,000-acre land that was set aside for the expansion of a sewerage treatment plant.

 

 

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