Residents of the SEPU area in Mukuru Kwa Njenga, Nairobi, were on Tuesday morning subjected to eviction and demolition attempts by state officers despite a subsisting court order barring any such action.
Earlier this month, the Environment and Land Court issued a conservatory order halting evictions, demolitions, or any interference with residents occupying the disputed land, pending the hearing and determination of the case. The order was intended to preserve the status quo and shield residents from forced displacement.
However, witnesses say security officers moved into the area in the early hours of the morning, forcing residents out of their homes and triggering panic and protests within the settlement. Families were seen hurriedly salvaging household items as fear and uncertainty spread, with many left without shelter.
Condemning the operation, Lawyer Omayio Arang’a, a legal representative of the affected residents, described the evictions as inhumane, unlawful and contemptuous, accusing the government of willfully disregarding court orders.
“We are going to pursue this inhumane, unlawful and contemptuous act perpetuated by the Government against her people, who shall now not know what Christmas is,” Arang’a said. “We shall take on the Cabinet Secretary for Lands Hon. Alice Wahome and her counterpart at Interior Hon. Kipchumba Murkomen, alongside the Nairobi Regional Coordinator Gilbert Kitiyo, the Deputy County Commissioner, the area chief and all those who organized and orchestrated this heinous act, even when the court orders were within their personal knowledge.”
He added that the residents would pursue the petition to its logical conclusion, seeking a court judgment against the government for violation of the residents’ dignity, insisting that nothing short of compensation would suffice.
