Evicted Kariobangi North residents light bonfires on Outering Road

Traffic flow on Outering Road was interrupted on Friday morning as Kariobangi North residents held protests following their eviction on Monday from property said to belong to Nairobi Water and Sewerage Company.

Residents from both Korogocho and Kariobangi North estates lit bonfires and barricaded Outering Road.

They were dispersed by police.

On Monday morning, about 5,000 people were left homeless after the government demolished their houses to reclaim the land. 

The exercise was supervised by police and was carried out by the Nairobi City Water and Sewerage Company with bulldozers arriving on the grounds ready to flush out the families, some of whom have called the area home for more than 10 years.

This was despite a court order that was issued barring the exercise.

The demolitions came at a time when the country is battling to curb the spread of the coronavirus as cases in Nairobi continue to increase.

Kariobangi North MCA Julius Njoka said the residents were legal owners of the land as allocated by the defunct Nairobi City Council in 2008.

The residents also claim to be in possession of allotment letters and were waiting for the processing of title deeds.

Njoka was arrested on Wednesday while sharing food to the vulnerable and elderly in the estate, but was later released.

According to the residents, the demolitions extended to Korogocho market.

Senators led by Nairobi’s Johnson Sakaja demanded compensation for the families and legal action against officials involved in the illegal allocation of the public land.

They accused the government of engaging in impunity and demanded a proper plan for people who lost their properties in the demolitions.

“ It is sad that despite a court order stopping the demolitions until the case is heard and determined, government agencies went ahead with impunity and carried out the exercise,” he said.

Senator Mutula Kilonzo Jnr (Makueni) said the government had committed an international crime.

“What is happening in Nairobi in the middle of a pandemic is a violation of human rights.  Those people are out in the cold, mingling with others who they are not sure are infected," he said.