Landowners and residents of Korogocho slums in Nairobi are up in arms over the government's plan to construct affordable houses in the area, claiming ownership of targeted land.
On Tuesday, the landlords and their tenants disrupted a public meeting organised by officials from the Ministry of Lands and Housing amid chaos in which the office of the chairperson of the local slum-upgrading committee was torched.
The residents accused the slum-upgrading committee, local leaders, and village elders of corruption, alleging they were pressuring them to accept the housing project.
Mrs Elizabeth Wangui, who owns more than 40 houses in the area, said the government intends to build the houses on community land by extending the boundary by 30 metres from the Nairobi River.
She argued that the move would displace long-time residents without offering them alternative housing.
“If they extend by 30 metres, where will my tenants and I go? This is my plot, which I have owned for over 30 years after inheriting it from my parents. It is my source of livelihood. These officials are not talking about compensation; they just want to evict us and leave us homeless,” she said.
She also pointed out that the officials had not provided any assurance that those displaced would be allowed to own the new houses once constructed.
“In August 2020, about 500 landowners in Korogocho were issued with title deeds by former President Uhuru Kenyatta, resolving a 45-year land ownership dispute.
Now, if they demolish our houses, yet we have legal ownership documents issued by the government, who are we supposed to turn to?” Ms Wangui said.
Mr James Kinyanjui, 53, blamed local leaders for failing to present their concerns, despite attending three meetings with the deputy county commissioner.
“We sent our leaders to get clarification after hearing rumours that the government wanted to take our land. Even after the ministry issued a 14-day eviction notice, we instructed the commissioner and the chief to inform them that we rejected the project,” Mr Kinyanjui said.
He vowed that the residents would not vacate their land, citing previous evictions where landowners were left destitute without compensation.
“People who were evicted last year have ended up as squatters in slums. No one is assuring us that once the houses are completed, we will reclaim our land. Instead, they are telling us to vacate, register under the ‘Boma Yetu’ programme, and then pay to acquire the houses,” he added.
During the heated meeting, the residents stormed out in protest, marched to the office of the committee chairman, and set it ablaze.
They described the government’s move as blatant oppression and vowed never to give up their homes.
Bernard Odira, a ten-household elder and a member of the village upgrading committee, was forced into hiding after youths and residents raided his home.
“My wife and I have gone into hiding after being accused of corruption in pushing for the project. The residents believe local leaders in Korogocho were bribed to support the initiative, but that is not true. This is a trap that has caught both the guilty and the innocent,” stated Odira.
He explained that the opposition to the affordable housing project was largely due to the issuance of title deeds in 2020 during President Kenyatta’s administration.
“The area has 2,500 landowners, but only 800 have title deeds,” he added.
The affordable housing project is one of President Ruto’s flagship programmes and aims to address Kenya’s housing problem by providing decent but affordable houses.
The projects align with the Kenya Kwanza administration’s Bottom-Up Economic Transformation Agenda (BETA), which prioritises housing as a key driver of employment and urban development.
