The largest informal settlement in Naivasha has been razed on Kenya Railways land, leaving 4,000 families homeless.
The demolition of structures on railways land took place on Sunday night.
Residents in the settlement off the Nairobi-Nakuru highway said they did not receive vacate notices.
A day earlier, bulldozers had brought down hundreds of businesses in Naivasha and Gilgil towns. One Naivasha trader said more than 300 businesses were affected.
The demolitions and public outcry have split the country's leadership. The land owned by Kenya Railways is expected eventually to expand the rail network.
In 2019, Kenya Railways issued a notice to vacate railways land. Few remembered or took it seriously.
Naivasha subcounty commissioner Mutua Kisilu defended the government and denied there were no vacate notices.
"This exercise has been going on across the country and Kenya Railways issued a notice in 2019. But many ignored it and they are now facing the consequences," he told the Star.
Plans for the land have not been announced.
Joseph Njogu said his family had lived in the informal settlement for 25 years and they know no other home. He called the government insincere to voters who elected leaders and called the demolition malicious.
“I can bet nothing will be constructed on this land for the next 10 years and the President who promised to support us has ended up killing our future,” he told the Star.
In Naivasha town, traders said the weekend demolition had hurt thousands of people. A hotel, bars, butcheries, salons, assorted stores were brought down.
Lakeview MCA Simon Wanyoike termed the demolitions inhumane and said traders had not been served with any notice.
He said they were yet to recover from the Covid-19 pandemic when they were devastated by the demolitions.
“We voted for this government which promised to protect the poor but it has ended up oppressing them day in day out,” he said.
Trader Judy Wangeci said that she had legal documents from the state after acquiring land where structures had been built.
She said they had not been issued with a vacate notice. Wangeci said everyone was caught "flat-footed" and said little had been salvaged.
“This is the darkest day for residents of Naivasha who have been ambushed by the government that they voted in," she said.
Other traders interviewed said they had a 30-year lease with Kenya Railways and asked why they were not served with notices.
(Edited by V. Graham)
