Athi River families left homeless in latest demolitions

Tears of pain, sorrow and despair flowed freely as the residents of Munyeti farm in Athi River Machakos county counted losses following the demolition of their houses on Friday.

The early morning raid left more than 30 families out in the cold without shelter and many of them pondering the next move.

Several people who attempted to resist the move were injured and were later treated in a nearby hospital with severe injuries.

Trouble started when more than 100 hired goons backed by a contingent of armed police officers, arrived at the farm at around 4 am, and started demolishing homes.

According to the locals, land-grabbing cartels are working in cahoots with rogue police officers to harass and intimidate them to surrender their land.

According to affected residents, the demolition occurred without a notice to vacate or even a court order.

Innocent Masase Mwachama, a resident whose house was demolished, said he lost property worth Sh5.5 million.

''I had taken a development loan from my bank, all the money and I spent all the money to construct this house, it is now down, I just don't know what to do or where to go,'' said Mwachama.

Another resident John Kioko told Saturday Standard that he had invested more than Sh2.5 million from his savings, so he decided to construct a home.

He was shocked to get a call that his house had been demolished.

''I can't believe it, all the money that I had earned through my savings has gone down the drain, until when will the poor get justice? he posed.

''When will police brutality and harassment end in this country? We have a court order to stop anyone from interfering with this land, how come police are all over here?" said Nancy Munyiva.

The demolition comes barely a few weeks after a section of residents confronted armed police officers who had planned to evict them. 

The more than 300 residents thwarted efforts by police to demolish their homes following a land dispute. 

A scuffle ensued when the officers arrived, claiming they had received orders from the government's parastatal NSSF to flatten their houses.  

The angry locals armed with a court order and ownership documents of the 50-acre piece of land thwarted the eviction bid insisting it was in breach of the rule of law.

They questioned why the officers said they were from the Nairobi region and wanted to evict them without a court order or any relevant document. After a lengthy standoff, the officers left quietly. 

The tens of uniformed masked armed police officers harassed the occupants claiming the land belonged to a government agency while invoking names of State House officials.

However, the officer returned Friday in the wee hours and demolished the houses leaving the residents out in the cold.

The residents now appeal to concerned government agencies to intervene to ensure court orders are honoured to the latter.

They also appealed to the director of criminal investigations (DCI) officers to launch speedy investigations on land grabbing cartels eying communal land in Athi River.