Kenyan slum demolition leaves tens of thousands homeless

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Kenya’s largest slum was woken on Monday by the sounds of cranes and bulldozers that demolished hundreds of shanties overnight to make way for a road, leaving desperate residents homeless.

Kibera lies on the outskirts of Nairobi and is one of Africa’s largest slums, home to more than 400,000 people, but parts of it are being demolished for a new road to ease congestion in the capital.

Construction started in 2016 and there have been earlier demolitions, but residents said the latest move had taken them by surprise as authorities had promised compensation and advance notice of any forced evictions.

Onlookers watch as bulldozers demolish houses to make way for a new road in the Kibera slum in Nairobi, Kenya, July 23, 2018. /VCG Photo

“We were raised here, we went to school here and we got married here. Now we don’t know where to go,” said Jacqueline Anzemo, a 30-year-old mother of three who has lived in Kibera since 2002.

“They came [and] took our names and identification numbers and said they will come give us rent for three months so that we can go somewhere else,” she said.

“They have not given us anything and already they’ve thrown us out. Where are we supposed to go?”

Amnesty International said the demolitions went against an agreement between Kenya Urban Roads Authority (KURA), a government agency, and rights groups to halt forced evictions until a resettlement plan had been agreed.

“Demolition prior to the completion of (the) Resettlement Action Plan betrays the public trust and violates our laws,” said Houghton Irungu, Amnesty International executive director for Kenya.

KURA said it was working with rights groups and local leaders on a plan to resettle people affected by the project.

A man stands in the rubbles of his home after bulldozers demolished dozens of houses to make way for a new road in the Kibera slum in Nairobi, Kenya, July 23, 2018. /VCG Photo

Construction of the road began in 2016 and in March that year residents of the slum filed two legal challenges to the planned demolition of their homes.

But a judge ruled last year that the road was in the public interest and threw out the challenges.

Rights groups say the demolitions, which are expected to affect 30,000 residents of Kibera, highlight the difficulties faced by mostly poor people living in informal settlements as African cities expand rapidly.

As he watched a crane flatten a school behind him, Arthur Shakwira, who has lived in Kibera for more than 20 years, wondered how he would find a new home for his family.

“I’ve taken my belongings to a neighbor. My wife and kids have moved to my brother’s place to stay there for the time being. I don’t know where to start from,” he said.

“We’ve not refused for the road to pass but they need to consider our wellbeing.”

(Cover image: The ongoing demolition to make way for road construction around Nairobi has left more than 20,000 families homeless in Kibera slum. /VCG Photo)

Source(s): Reuters