The Senator of Nairobi county Mike Sonko Mbuvi has written to President Uhuru Kenyatta urging him to intervene and halt demolition of structures along the Southern bypass in Nairobi.
Property worth millions of shillings was destroyed after the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure flattened structures on land reserved for bypass at the weekend.
The ministry has defended the demolitions on the grounds the structures in the way of bypass whose construction is underway. In the letter, which was delivered and received to State House yesterday, Sonko protested that the structures were far off from the bypass and that there was neither a court order nor was an eviction issued before the demolitions.
The senator attached to the letter copies of correspondences and title deeds from the Ministry of Roads, the City council of Nairobi confirming the approvals of development of the structures.
“The demolitions do not augur well for the Jubilee administration and the constitution. They are giving your government a negative image thereby giving our political opponents an opportunity to discredit your good leadership,” the letter reads in part.
He urged the president to take up the matter with the Transport and Infrastructure Secretary Michael Kamau because the demolitions are being conducted without any notice, court order or compensation.
“Should the government find it necessary to carry on with demolitions then I plead for compensation to the affected persons as the case was with other by passes,” he said.
However, Sonko took a swipe at Secretary Kamau, accusing him of arrogance and working with the enemies of Jubilee to paint the government black.
“This is the only analogue cabinet secretary in the Jubilee administration and we must be wary of his overbearing conduct. We shall teach him a lesson for his arrogance,” he said.
Sonko was forced to write to the president after hundred of affected families swarmed his office at KICC yesterday demanding that he takes action to ensure they are compensated for their loss.
