Ruiru residents decry possible forceful eviction

A section of leaders from Kiambu County have asked the government to come clear on the acquisition of thousands of acres of land in Ruiru.

This comes after residents expressed fear of being evicted from the land estimated to be over 3,000 acres and located at Gikumari area where most of them have lived for decades.

Locals raised concern after a contractor started opening up roads and re-surveying the area last Sunday without a public participation forum while a local administrator is said to have told those who have developed their parcels of land that they will be compensated.

This raised eyebrows among the property owners as many of them have title deeds.

Led by Ruiru MP Simon King’ara and Gatong’ora ward MCA Dan Gitau, the leaders said the government has not made it clear whether it plans to acquire the portion for the affordable housing project.

Contacted earlier, area Deputy County Commissioner Margaret Mbugua said she was not aware of any plans to evict people from their land and insisted that the government was opening up roads in the area.

King’ara who addressed the residents accompanied by former legislators Peter Mwathi (Limuru) and and Jude Njomo (Kiambu Town) as well well as nominated MCA Ann Wacera, said justice should prevail and no one should be deprived of their land.

“If it is a road being constructed, why not bring the matter to the people openly and why deploy security officers to guard the contractor? Again if anyone is claiming ownership of the land they should come with valid documents but not threats of eviction,” said King’ara.

However, the MP appealed to residents not to take the law into their hands and give him time to consult the relevant offices.

This is after the residents had said they have armed themselves to defend the land from encroachment.

The meeting also gave a two-day ultimatum to the administration to withdraw security from the area and resolved to send a petition to Parliament against the move to evict them.

Gitau said even though he and majority of the MCA from the area are members of the UDA government, they will stand with the people.

The furious locals stated that local authorities from Ruiru fueled their fears after they reportedly openly described their title deeds as fake and that they would be evicted without failure.

Irked by the sentiments, the residents lamented that assertions have already sparked fear and psychological trauma among them as they have nowhere else to call home.

A meeting called by local authorities to discuss the matter on Sunday is said to have ended in disarray after the aggrieved residents chased the government officers whom they said failed to respond to pertinent questions regarding who is behind their eviction and the motive.

By

 Antony Kioko