Hundreds left homeless in Kibera after demolition of their structures

Kenya Railways maintains that the structures which accommodate more than 1,000 residents are illegal. Photo KULAN

By Kevin Kyalo

NAIROBI—More than 500 people who reside along the railway in Kibera, Nairobi have been left homeless after an early morning demolition.

An area, known as 42 which mostly consist of corrugated iron sheet houses has been the most affected in the Thursday’s ordeal.

“The bulldozers were here as early as 5am demolishing our houses, they did not give us time to salvage our belonging,” said Jacob Owino an affected resident.

“Police officers used tear gas to disperse us. I have been left without a home ,” he added.

The residents said they received notices last month from the Kenya Railways company asking them to relocate, but they did not know where to move to.

More than 1,ooo residents have lost their homes. People are trying to recover their furniture and mattresses that are scattered all over the place,” said a resident who sort anonymity after speaking to Kulan post.

They also maintained that Kenya Railways was to relocate them once a slum upgrading programme funded by the World Bank was complete.

Police engaged in running battles with angry youth who tried to stop the demolition. Teargas was lobbed to disseminate them.

The press were blocked from capturing the events and those taking photos were also forced to surrender their phones.

Kibera which is largely a slum originated as a settlement in the forests at the outskirts of Nairobi, when Nubian soldiers returned from service.