- Nyamu expressed concerns about the evictions saying the county should be humane to the hawkers.
- She emphasized the importance of addressing this matter amicably and called on leaders to speak out for the citizens.
Image: FILE
Senator Karen Nyamu has asked Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja to provide an alternative to hawkers selling commodities in the Nairobi Central Business District.
Speaking during a Sunday service at ACK St. Monica Church in Dandora, Nyamu expressed concerns about the evictions saying the county should be humane to the hawkers.
"It is not wrong to remove hawkers from CBD. We also value order, but you cannot chase away hawkers without giving them an alternative. We must address this issue because if we don't, the next group targeted could be taxi drivers," she remarked.
She emphasized the importance of addressing this matter amicably and called on leaders to speak out for the citizens.
Additionally, Nyamu touched on the ongoing land demolition saga in Njiru, which the court ruled belongs to the former Starehe MP Gerishon Kirima.
The ruling now means thousands of people who have settled on the land now face evictions.
"People have bought land from unscrupulous individuals, only to be evicted by court orders without their consent. We have witnessed similar situations in Mavoko," she noted.
"Yes, the land belongs to Kirima, but we urge the government to protect its citizens."
Nyamu stated that the government shares responsibility because people have to go through official channels to acquire land.
She mentioned that she is in the process of drafting a bill to compel the government to compensate those who have gone through the process of purchasing land and later face evictions.
"I will be at the forefront of discussions with Kirima's family to reach a resolution and also provide assistance to those currently residing there," she pledged.
As a people's leader, she emphasized that leadership should have a compassionate and humane aspect to it.
The court had allowed the Kirima family to send bulldozers rolling on the homes in 70 days if the illegal occupiers would not have moved out.
Embakasi East MP Babu Owino also came out to defend occupants of the Njiru land after the Environment and Land court ruled that it belongs to Kirima's family.
Speaking to the press, Babu insisted that the land belongs to his Embakasi East constituents.
He argued that the people residing in the land acquired it through "Adverse possession".