Hundreds of families are spending nights in the cold following their eviction from land under dispute in Bamburi.
The 527 families said they were forced off the land by armed police officers on the orders of a private developer who is claiming ownership.
This is not the first time they are being kicked out. They claimed they had faced similar experiences more than 10 times since 2010.
The land, registered as Lamkani plot number 435, measures 132 acres.
When The Standard team visited the site, it was met by flattened structures while whatever remained of the squatters’ smouldering belongings was strewn all over.
READ MORE
Amsons woos shareholders as it steps up Sh23.5b Bamburi buyout bid
Settlement agony for thousands of squatters on sisal estate
Most of the victims, who said they had nowhere to go, are camping a distance away from the disputed property.
“This is the most inhuman eviction we have ever witnessed in the recent past,” said Commission for Human Rights and Justice Executive Director Julius Ogogoh.
LOST IDS
He said the National Land Commission (NLC) should intervene to end mass evictions at the Coast, including in Kisauni, saying they could spark conflict.
The squatters appealed to the Government to intervene, claiming the majority of them had even lost their national identity cards in the latest eviction and would, therefore, not be able to vote on August 8.
“We have lost household goods and IDs in the latest demolition of our homes by armed police and some of us will not be able to participate in the August 8 elections,” said James Mramba.
He said trouble began in 2010, when their houses were first brought down, forcing them to leave what he claimed was ancestral land.
Rehema Kahindi said they had been spending sleepless nights in the cold since last Friday and appealed to the Government to provide them with food and shelter.
“We fear for our children's health as we have been spending nights outside,” she said.
