Niraj and Avani Shah are at a loss for words after the harrowing weekend they just had.
They say they don't know what to do next after they were evicted from their family home and their house was demolished on Friday.
Niraj is particularly still in shock at the sight of the rubble which has been his family's home since 1978
"This was my childhood home. I have lived here all my life, since I was six-years-old and now I don't know what I'm going to do," he said.
"How can you rebuild a life after more than 40 years from scratch? I can't even begin to think about it."
All the memories and possessions they held in that house were either lost, scattered or destroyed by auctioneers who claimed to have a court order.
Avani recalls that they had come to the neighbourhood on the Monday before the eviction, looking for the house.
"They were seen lurking about here, looking for our house. When they found it, they went away and came back on Friday, without prior notice, to evict us," she said.
On November 4, what started as a normal day with her coming home from the market to pick up some shopping ended in tears.
"At around 12 PM on Friday, I drove past a large group of men along School lane. They were carrying machetes and hammers so I assumed they were handymen, going to cut grass or trim hedges somewhere perhaps," she said.
Little did she know that they would be knocking at her door and tearing down the home she has lived in with her husband and two children for more than 20 years.
"Shortly after getting into the house and handing the shopping to my house manager, I heard a bang at the door," she said.
The group of more than 20 armed men stormed into the family's compound and issued an eviction notice to Avani.
She thought the worst when she first saw the crowd.
Avani thought they were burglars who had come to steal from the house so she ordered her groundsman not to let them in but it was too late.
"They were jumping over the fence and making their way to the house before we could stop them," she said.
She said her groundsman was roughed up by the mob.
They showed her a court order saying they were supposed to evict her but they wouldn't let her read it nor would they give her a copy.
"They just said they were giving me an hour to pack before they can begin the eviction," she said.
But literally, five minutes after asking her to pack up, they started to force their way into the house.
Avani said they were throwing their personal things out of the house with little disregard for their value or for her protests.
Within minutes, her house was being destroyed while other valuables were being looted.
Avani was frantic with fear.
"I called my husband immediately and tried to call our friends and family to send help," she said.
When Niraj finally got home, the auctioneers wouldn't show him the court order and continued pillaging the house.
"My wife had managed to catch a glimpse of it and it showed the order was by Lariak Property Limited Versus Metro Pharmaceuticals, which is my company," Niraj said.
Niraj asked on what grounds they were being evicted because the house was not connected to his business in any way.
"We don't owe any money and even so, this property is in the name of an individual and not the company so there are no grounds for evicting us," he said.
What the order was saying, Niraj explained, was that we are being evicted for failing to pay rent on their own property.
"The lease on this house will expire in 25 years," he said.
He said even if it was a rightful eviction, there are procedures to be followed before doing so.
"You must come with police officers, having given previous notice and give ample time to take what is needed. You don't come with goons and jump over the gate and destroy valuable property," he said.
They estimate that more than Sh100 million worth of property was destroyed and looted.
"We can't even quantify the emotional damage that has been caused," Avani said.
"Our daughter is traumatised, she is not going to school because she saw the pictures of our demolished house and couldn't bear it,"Niraj said.
They said their dogs are still in a panic after they were scattered on the day of the demolition.
The couple said they cannot understand why no one from the government, including the police, came to their aid when they were in desperate need.
"We may be of Asian descent but we are still Kenyans. We deserve justice like everybody else," Avani said.
While they wait for justice, the home continues to be in ruins as they think of what steps to take next.
