Land evictions evoke emotions of powerlessness, humiliation and despair. Evictions are widespread in Kenya, even in cases where the purported grabbers are issued with notice. The government or the bona fide owners of the land in question usually ignore court orders.
The uncertainty around land ownership in Kenya is shrouded by corruption where powerful and well-connected individuals collude with cartels. This is what pains many citizens who feel the land question should have been the first to be addressed after Independence.
Land remains an emotive issue in Kenya and the successive regimes have failed to plan correctly and to follow the law leading to forced evictions. The worst thing about evictions is that they are cruel, inhumane and degrading, contravening international human rights standards.
There are so many cases of evictions, especially around mining and development projects that are not documented. In all these cases, the Constitution is not respected.
The Constitution states that evictees should be compensated but this is often disregarded, and many families are left homeless and destitute.
Mukuru kwa Njenga residents, for example, suffered the undesired fate of forcible and violent eviction in November 2021. The residents were caught by surprise by bulldozers demolishing their houses with heavy police escort. Youths assembled and began to protest.
Laughably, the police, with no apparent sense of irony, captured the inequality of community vs state tactics. In response, the police dispersed the protesting residents with live ammunition, leading to loss of life. The contestation in Mukuru was on ownership of land between Orbit Chemicals Limited and the community.
The Mukuru evictees were left homeless. They lost clothing and other personal belongings, and dozens of families are now sleeping in makeshift tents amid the rubble and the open sewage now overflowing during the seasonal rains. Left with no way of making money due to this horrible state, their mental health deteriorated. Sadly, many youths have died by suicide.
Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua, in his speech during his swearing-in, pledged that the government will never use state agencies to demolish or forcibly evict people from their land. And that every Kenyan is free to live in any place of his/her choice.
His remarks are contrary to the recent demolition of houses in Mavoko. The evictees of Mavoko will not only live in agony but also in pain and trauma. The forced eviction in Mavoko was a result of land-related corruption.
Informal settlers lack tenure security mainly because they occupy land classified as unfit for human habitation or land to which they have no title. In rural areas, squatters and former labour tenants face evictions from landowners through the government.
It’s clear on the level to which forced evictions violate human rights and unless a national regulatory framework is adopted, such cases are bound to increase exposing the government to unnecessary international scrutiny.
International legal standards allow for eviction. However, under international human rights law, evictions may be carried out only as a last resort, once all other feasible alternatives to eviction have been explored and genuine consultation has taken place with affected individuals or groups. International and regional human rights law requires that adequate procedural safeguards be put in place.
Housing involves more than having a roof over one’s head. It includes the need for minimum levels of security of tenure. Article 11(1) of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights provides for the right to adequate housing, the right to protection from arbitrary or unlawful interference with privacy, family, or home and to legal security of tenure.
Article 17 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights provides for the right to protection of the law against arbitrary or unlawful interference with a person’s privacy, family, or home.
Kenya is party to both the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. The rights envisioned under Article 11(1) and 17 of the two treaties named respectively mirror each other and they are related, hence, the laws are interconnected.
Forced evictions contravene the Banjul Charter to which Kenya is also party, Articles 14 and 16 on the right to property and the right to health, and Article 18(1) on the state’s duty to protect the family.
The Constitution of Kenya, 2010 fully incorporates economic, social, and cultural rights that are recognised under the relevant international and regional human rights instruments. Therefore, evictions should only be carried out when appropriate procedural protections are in place.
Law student at Mount Kenya University. [email protected]
