Residents of Lang’ata estate threatened with homelessness can breathe easy after a court on Thursday temporarily stopped the planned demolition of their houses.
Justice Bernard Eboso said the residents got their titles lawfully and plans by Environment Cabinet Secretary Keriako Tobiko to demolish their homes on claims that they were built on grabbed Ngong forest is unlawful.
The determination of the Environment and Land Court followed the hearing of several applications by the residents.
One of the applicants, Kagwanja Thuo, told Justice Eboso that he bought his plot from Bahati MP Kimani Ngunjiri 14 years ago and built a house on it.
Thuo maintains that he obtained his title legally and any claim that it is fraudulent is baseless. For that reason, he asked the court to stop the intended demolitions.
Lang’ata Gardens Ltd said it built a storey building worth Sh240 million on its plot in Lang’ata Phase 3 and it would be wrong to bring it down.
The company said Tobiko's demolition directive amounted to impunity.
Justice Eboso extended the orders barring the CS and Kenya Forestry Service from demolishing the homes, pending the hearing of the case on July 28.
More than 20,000 residents of gated communities in Lang'ata will be homeless if Tobiko is not stopped from demolishing the houses.
The estates targeted for demolition are Sun Valley (Phases 1-3), Forest View, Lang’ata Place, Lang’ata View Apartments, Royal Park, St Mary’s Apartment, KMA Lang’ata and Shalom.
Most of the petitioners said they built their houses with retirement savings and bank loans. Some are likely to stop servicing their mortgages after the demolition threat.
The land was gazetted as forest in 1932. The acreage at the time was 7,239 acres. It has since shrunk to 3,722.5 acres due to excisions.
Tobiko had last month said that the illegally acquired forest land would be reclaimed and told the occupants to surrender it or face Mau Forest-like wrath.
He said the fencing off of the forest will begin in a couple of months.
He maintained that the Ngong Road Forest land was illegally acquired and that its reclamation followed a directive by President Uhuru Kenyatta whether the people on them have title deeds or not, whether they have built houses and flats or business structures on them or not.
- mwaniki fm
