Veterans are among dozens of families left in the cold following demolitions in Nairobi’s Woodley Estate on Monday night.
Bulldozers tore down their dwellings amid downpour, thrusting the residents into an unforgiving world of cold and uncertainty. Children, the elderly and even the sick bore the brunt of the eviction.
Majority were left reeling in shock and could not even express their pain. Among them, veterans who served the country in various capacities in yester-years, including Sammy Lui who was a member of State House Press team in former President Mwai Kibaki’s administration.
Other veterans, most of whom have passed on, include Achieng Oneko, Argwings Kodhek, Mulu Mutisya and journalist Shihundu (the late) among others.
“We have very vulnerable citizens here and these homes were the last hope for their families,” a resident who did not want to be named, said.
She said the Kenya Power officials arrived at around 9pm and “put off the lights and took took the power meters from each house and left.”
“A minute past midnight, they, (bulldozers) started with Lui’s house. They brought down the gates and we were left watching in sadness,” she added.
And now, the loss of personal belongings, and the shame of being treated like outsiders weighed heavily on their minds as they scrambled to salvage what goons, who raided the homes amid demolitions, left.
And Tuesday turned out to be a heyday for the neighborhood, Kibra residents, who thronged Woodley to comb through the debris for valuables.
Lui said “I cannot comprehend the loss I have to endure,” he said in his frail voice.
Earlier, he had told The Standard that they “have nothing against the project, but we should be engaged.”
“Even this space you see here would not have been preserved if we were not vigilant,” he said, adding that the eviction notice has caused sleepless nights for many residents.
Other victims who spoke to The Standard on condition of anonymity “wondered if they were citizens of Kenya,”
“These were houses which were built at independence. Most of the residents are retirees with their families. This is the only livelihood they know of,” said a resident.
“The fear is we don’t know where to seek refuge. We’ve lived here since childhood and within a period of three to four months our dwellings are down. It’s traumatising,” he added.
The eviction has been marred with controversies as two factions emerged with a section of residents supporting the move while others opposed it.
It has also involved a back and forth court battle between residents and Nairobi County Government.
Some residents who supported the demolition, argued they had reached a consensus with the county leadership and that compensation of Sh900,000 was to be issued to affected families for relocation.
On the other hand, through their lobby group, Woodley Residents Welfare Society, the residents filed a petition, citing tragic deaths of at least seven residents who they claimed succumbed to shock after receiving eviction notices.
They claimed they acquired the houses legally. “I have a title deed that I obtained in 2009 and recently obtained a court order,” one victim who had invested in constructing his residential house, said while tearing the court order into pieces.
