NAIROBI, Kenya, Jul 5 — Nairobi Senator and UDA Governor candidate Johnson Sakaja has called for an end to illegal and inhumane evictions in the city, especially in low income areas.
Sakaja was speaking at a town hall meeting with residents of Mukuru Kwa Reuben who lamented the many times they have watched their homes being flattened by people protected by police.
“We have proposed that people who need to be moved from public or private land should be given two-years notice, and if possible allocated alternative space before their homes are demolished. These incidents where people leave their homes to go to work and return to find no home, or worse are woken up in the middle of the night by bulldozers, should and must come to an end,” Sakaja said.
In December last year, one person died and hundreds of homes demolished by a government multiagency team backed by hundreds of police officers. The residents yesterday said many of them were yet to recover from the losses they incurred during the incident.
Before the town hall meeting, Sakaja was hosted by a community radio station, Reuben FM, where he spoke of his record in the Senate defending the rights of victims of previous evictions.
He however restated his commitment to repossess grabbed public land and restore public facilities for community use.
“Some people have been saying these land where Mukuru centre is belongs to them. We are assuring you the ownership title will revert to the public and the centre will continue to serve the people of Mukuru,” Sakaja added.
Sakaja also said that he will work hand in hand with Kenya Power and Nairobi Water Company to streamline electricity and water distribution within the Nairobi informal settlements like Mukuru.
