Kiambu Senator Kimani Wamatangi’s bodyguard was disarmed after drawing his gun when the politician’s structures were demolished in Nairobi.
Wamatangi’s car wash and stalls were pulled down for being on Kenya Railways land along Aerodrome Road opposite Nyayo National Stadium.
Witnesses said Wamatangi visited the Car Bazzar early in the morning and left.
“His bodyguard caused a scare. He drew his gun but was stopped by plain cloth officers who disarmed him,” a witness said.
Wamatangi neither picked calls nor responded to text messages.
Bulldozers arrived at the site at about 5am. Kenya Railways Corporation’s spokesperson Margaret Kawira said the senator had erected the structures on public land.
She said Wamatangi had encroached on the agency’s land.
“The demolition will go all the way Kibera and to every place where there is encroachment on our land,” Kawira said. She said encroachment on the corridor has caused safety concerns and had interfered with operations.
She said the encroachers were given notice to vacate but the tenants said said they were “caught by surprise.”
“I was not aware of the demolition. It is a huge blow,” a trader said. Most of the structures were metal containers modified into shops. Most sold cosmetics and drinks.
Youths descended on the rubble seeking remains to sell as scrap metal even as owners salvaged what they could.
“I have to start thinking again of what I will be doing for a living,” a man engaged at the Car wash told the Star. He declined to be named. The demolitions causes a huge snarl up along Langata Road.