Relief to Kariobangi families as Sakaja approves their resettlement
By Kevin CheruiyotNairobi County Government has approved resettlement of 8, 000 families who were evicted from their homes in 2020 by the last administration of Uhuru Kenyatta under the defunct Nairobi City Council.
This was agreed in a cabinet meeting that was chaired by Governor Johnson Sakaja on Tuesday where they deliberated on the presentations of ongoing and upcoming projects by the various county sectors.
While addressing the issue of Kariobangi North squatters, Sakaja’s cabinet agreed with the resettlement of residents who were from a disputed piece of land.
“The County Executive Committee approved the resettlement of residents evicted in 2020 from a disputed piece of land in Kariobangi North. The piece of land, initially part of the Nairobi County Sewerage Expansion, had been excised and allotments issued through the defunct Nairobi City Council,” part of the dispatch from the cabinet reads.
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The county argues that the residents had proceeded to get lease certificates for each plot that saw the construction of homes under members of the Kariobangi Self-Help Group.
This come after the Governor met with the representatives of Kariobangi Self Help Group who were evicted in 2020 under harsh conditions, including the rain, and under Covid-19 restrictions.
Whoever, the court had ordered the government to pay Sh100 million to families who were evicted from their homes in the cold from the disputed land.
In his previous judgment, Justice Anne Omollo ruled that the victims were unfairly removed from their homes when their houses were demolished in the wee hours of the morning, rendering them homeless despite a court order stopping the exercise.
In the wee hours of May 2020, the officials from Nairobi Water and Sewerage Company were escorted by the police to evict the families, a move that received criticism from Kenyans.
According to the County Government, the eviction was in line with its plans to restore the land that had been grabbed which paralyzed the Dandora Estate Waste Sewerage Plant project.
When the eviction took place, Sakaja who was serving as Nairobi Senator by then criticized the government for inhumane treatment of families.
“It is sad that despite a court order stopping the demolitions until the case is heard and determined government agencies went ahead with impunity and carried out the exercise,” Sakaja said then.