Shem Mokua is a young man who never thought he would ever see his mother faint.
But last weekend, as bulldozers descended on houses at the contested East African Portland Cement Company (EAPCC) land in Mavoko, Machakos County, he saw her faint. Not once, but twice.
Dwellers and metal dealers salvage recyclable metals from the demolished houses on the disputed Portland Cement land in Mavoko , Machakos County on October 18, 2023
Photo credit: WILFRED NYANGARESI
“She fell down when the tractors hit the perimeter wall. She was taken to hospital and then discharged. And after a few hours, she fainted again. The demolition shook her. She couldn’t believe that all the money the family had used for buying the land and constructing their dream homes was going down the drain,” he says.
What burdened Mr Mokua’s mother the most, was that hers was a huge tragedy. Four homes belonging to the family were demolished in one fell swoop.
One house belonged to his brother, his sister had two homes and the other was for his mum. Mr Mokua did not have a house, but had bought land in the same location.
Mr Mokua, his brother Yusuf Atandi and their family are among the tens of residents whose homes worth millions of shillings were demolished.
Unlucky family loses four homes and land in Mavoko demolitions
“My mum helped me get loans from women’s chamas and saccos so I could at least finish constructing my house. I bought her land nearby and she built her own house. It has also been pulled down. So, this has affected us a lot. My sister had built rental properties and also her own home. She is also affected. The family has been dealt many blows all at once. There is little we can do,” says Mr Atandi.
Yusuf Atandi's demolished house that initially overpowered the demolishers in putting down.
Photo credit: WILFRED NYANGARESI|NATION MEDIA GROUP
For Mr Atandi, a businessman who is into logistics, this was to be the home that he would age in. He bought his parcel of land for Sh600,000. He built a five-bedroom house so strong that the operator of the earth-mover that was supposed to tear it down, left after denting only one side of the wall.
“Hii nyumba iliwashinda kubomoa (They were unable to destroy this house),” Mr Atandi said on Tuesday.
But by Wednesday in the afternoon, the earthmover has returned and flattened it down. He estimates the cost of construction at Sh10 million.
“I’d constructed it so that my family lives here forever. I was telling myself that if I ever move out, I’ll leave it for my parents,” says the father-of-one.
The fact that his house was adjacent to the Standard-Gauge Railway made it scenic and refreshing, he thought. He had chosen the spot on the encouragement of his sister.
“The first person to come here (Mavoko) was my sister. She told me, ‘Come, at least it’s an already developed area."
An excavator demolishes a building built on the disputed Portland Cement land in Mavoko, Machakos County on October 18, 2023.
Photo credit: Wilfred Nyangaresi | Nation Media Group
" I came and saw for myself that people were not putting up mabati structures but big houses worth millions of shillings. I decided to buy land, a parcel for me and another for my parents. My sister bought many pieces of land for herself,” he says.
“I knew we had escaped the burden of paying rent. As a Nairobi homeowner, you get to save upwards of Sh80,000. So I said I better build my own home, then the rent money could go to school fees and other expenses,” he adds.
This was his second year of construction. He planned to move in on October 25, just eight days from the day his house was demolished.
“I had already given a notice that I was moving out. I got back my deposit,” he says. Now he has had to put all those plans on ice. His brother, Mr Mokua, had high hopes too.
"The government keeps telling us about affordable housing. So, if you are lucky to get yours, why should they then hit you? ” he says.
Francis Musau Kilonzo, a 37-year-old mason, was among the Kenyans who had moved to Mavoko as a tenant.
He rented a single room where he was living with his wife and two children — one in Grade II and another in Standard Eight. He moved in early this year to take advantage of the house construction boom in the area.
“We never got any eviction notice. Even now, I am being housed by a friend,” he says.
Though he never bothered much about documentation as he was a tenant, he often overheard conversations about ownership.
Francis Musau Kilonzo, a mason at Mavoko during the demolitions on October 16, 2023. The mason had rented one of the homes that was demolished. Stanley Machuma demolished house in Mavoko, Machokos County on October 16, 2023.
Photo credit: Elvis Ondieki | Nation Media Group
“When we were at a nearby hotel eating, we could hear the owners saying they had title-deeds already and were allowed to build. That’s how they encouraged us to rent,” says Mr Kilonzo.
Read: Mavoko demolitions: MP Makua insists he is innocent
“There is credible information indicating that some of the individuals being evicted from the land in question are innocent buyers, who fell victim to fraudsters,” said the DCI in a statement on Tuesday.
So, of those homeowners affected, who does he feel for the most?
“There is a woman over there,” he said, pointing east.
“We built a house for her up to the painting stage. She is abroad. It’s her children who live here: Her two sons plus her sister and brother. She has only ever spent a week in that house, but now it has gone down," Mr Kilonzo says.
Mr Kilonzo says the locality was gradually growing into a bustling settlement with schools, M-Pesa agents, spacious roads and little shanty structures among other amenities.
Stanley Machuma, a pastor, whose house had been demolished when we interviewed him, said there were “distant” rumours of a court case.
“We only heard there was a case in court and we had no idea what the case was about. The leaders didn’t tell us,” he says.
But as it turned out, the case had more far-reaching consequences for the pastor and other residents when the verdict was finally issued.
