Hundreds made homeless by mass forced evictions in Kenya

Amnesty International has called on the Kenyan authorities to halt the forced evictions in a Nairobi settlement that have left hundreds of families homeless and destitute.

A bulldozer from the Nairobi City Council flattened market stalls in Kabete NITD on Tuesday 13 July for the second time this week. On Saturday 10 July, authorities had demolished around 150 homes and 470 market stalls.

Despite rumours in the community that forced evictions were imminent, no official notice was given to residents or traders.

‘The residents of Kabete NITD, who were already living in poverty, have seen their homes and livelihoods destroyed without warning – these mass demolitions must end immediately,’ said Justus Nyan’aya, Director of Amnesty International Kenya.

When some traders continued to work on the rubble of their former stalls, the bulldozer returned just before midnight on Tuesday to re-flatten the site.

Angry residents reportedly clashed with armed police as tensions flared in the settlement.

Many residents were still inside their homes when the bulldozers first arrived, giving them just minutes to evacuate.

‘I woke up suddenly and heard the tractor as it was demolishing everything. We’d had no warning they would be evicting us. We tried to salvage some of our things but it all happened so fast.

‘We even lost all of our clothes and bedding. I have nowhere to go, nowhere to run to. The government should give us land where we can build,’ Beverly, a 61-year-old resident of Kabete NITD, told Amnesty International.

The evictions have left hundreds of people, mainly women and children, without shelter. Most of the market traders lost all their goods and have had their livelihoods destroyed. Residents believe that another part of the settlement is also at risk of being demolished.

‘The government is treating us like dogs. They don’t think that we are human beings. They say that they are fighting poverty but really they are promoting it by carrying out evictions in this way,’ said Sella, a 78 year-old woman from the part of Kabete NITD under threat of forced eviction.

Kabete NITD (Native Industrial Training Department) was established in 1974 by workers constructing a road. The land is owned by the Veterinary Department of the government of Kenya, although there have been other claims of ownership and repeated threats of forced eviction.