Government Halts Mukuru Evictions, To Oversee Immediate Resettlement

NAIROBI,Kenya, Jan, 6 – President Uhuru Kenyatta has ordered the cessation of evictions in Mukuru kwa Njenga and the immediate resettlement of victims uprooted from the informal settlement on Christmas Day.

Interior Cabinet Secretary Dr Fred Matiang’i who delivered the President’s order said the Government will instead expedite negotiations with the private owners of the piece of land at the centre of the dispute.

The CS who was addressing Mukuru community leaders said the planned construction of roads and other infrastructure upgrades in the densely populated area will however go on as planned but under a negotiated consensus with residents.

“We want everyone who is currently displaced to go back immediately. The instructions are that we immediately cease every activity in Mukuru kwa Njenga until everyone has been resettled,: said Matiang’i.

He criticized the Christmas Day evictions as ‘insensitive and unnecessary’ and revealed that it had been executed by rogue officials who had already been disciplined for the aberrations.

Referring to the disputed land that is claimed by a private firm, Dr Matiangi said while the Government respects private property and court-ordered evictions from disputed lands, it was also obliged to balance the enforcement of such rights and the welfare of displaced families.

“We respect court orders, but we will implement them in a framework that also respects the interests of the people we serve. We have called some of our officers to account,” he said.

The CS announced that those who lost their shelters in the incident will be settled in the next 30 days, with a special focus on those currently sheltering in tents.

Lands Cabinet Secretary Faridah Karoney who also attended the meeting said an audit of the title deeds held by the residents will be undertaken to regularize land tenure and informal property holdings in the area.

The Cabinet secretaries said only surveyors from the Ministry of Lands will be involved in the undertaking to avoid conflict of interest and interference by cartels. The meeting was also addressed by Nairobi Metropolitan Services Director General Lt. Gen Mohammed Badi and Inspector General of Police Hilary Mutyambai.

In August, 2017, the Nairobi County government declared the Mukuru informal settlement a Special Planning Area (SPA) and approved an Integrated Development Plan on infrastructural facelift to improve access to water and sanitation services, modern housing, and electricity connectivity.

The recarpeting and upgrading of 70 kilometers of roads to cabro and bitumen, construction of a 24-bed Level 3 hospital in Mukuru Kwa Njenga and Mukuru Kayaba, construction of 15,000 housing units under the Kenya Slum Upgrading Programme (KENSUP) and the issuance of 1,329 title deeds was to be undertaken under the program.

The plan was also to extend to the drilling of 10 boreholes and introduction of a water token system to reduce the cost of water but its implementation has been slowed down by controversies of land ownership and settlements.