Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja has most forcefully condemned a violent and illegal eviction operation that he called ‘brutal’ and ‘unlawful’ in Mukuru Kwa Njenga requesting an immediate halt to the demolitions that have already turned the crowded area into chaos and fear.
Through the governor, reports of violent confrontations between the police and the residents have and are coming, and the use of live ammunition and rubber bullets against civilians is alleged, moreover such force is considered excessive.
At the press conference which appeared quite tense on Tuesday, Sakaja publicly condemned the operation in a very forceful manner declaring it to be “inhumane” and done without proper and timely notice and without venturing into consultation with the families affected or with the county government authorities.
He repeatedly emphasized the fact that even inevitable evictions must go through the right procedure including, beforehand, engagement, ample notification, and the observance of the fundamental human dignity.
Sakaja showed what he claimed to be shells from bullets purportedly fired during the operation making a sarcastic reference to the decision to send heavily armed police to a civilian area. “These are bullets; it is not right,” he said, and he supported the argument to that effect with the mention of the use of force by security personnel being that severe.
The governor maintained that the County Government of Nairobi was not aware of the eviction action, and he asserted that neither he nor President William Ruto approved the operation. Sakaja stated that he had a direct conversation with the President, who he asserts was not aware of the demolitions going on and immediately has ordered them to stop.
There is still a lot of palpable tension in Mukuru. The people living there are still expressing their fears of getting displaced as the bulldozers keep demolishing houses without any intelligible notice, thus, making families panic and flee.
A community justice organization, the Mukuru Community Justice Centre, has claimed that the police disobeyed a court order by going ahead with the expulsions and employing violence that puts the safety and dignity of the local people at risk.
Governor Sakaja has ordered the stoppage of all activities of the various agencies involved, pending legal dialogue and public participation, pointing out that no development is effective if it is at the cost of people’s rights or without openness.
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