The aftermath of a sinister move

 

     

Homeless, jobless and hopeless. A story of seven guys that are still collecting the pieces left of their lives after the Kariobangi demolition on 4 May 2020.They were neighbors and good friends before the demolition rendered them homeless. They are surviving in what's left of the houses, four guys sharing one mattress and the rest sleeping on a sofa in  houses that are hollowed-out versions of their former selves. A statement,  to lives and hopes once lived by the residents who now scrape by on aid handouts and the bare minimum for survival.

 The scenes were forlorn  and one could easily mistake it for a war-torn area. The environment was full of leftovers from the demolition, you take one step and you encounter some broken glass or scattered woods. You could still hear the ghost-like noise the bulldozers left behind that kept reminding them of that horrific morning. How far is too far? We have most people striving to put  food on the table,  having to worry about the ongoing pandemic and the curfews and then there's this situation of no job, no house and with heavy rains around. They have nothing other than the thought of the government having a penchant of destroying its own citizens and stripping them off their aspirations. 

The eviction was done by the Nairobi City Water and Sewerage Company in a bid to reclaim the land that is said to have been grabbed from the Dandora Estate Waste Sewage Treatment Plant in Ruai.They were accompanied by the Deputy County Commissioner  (DCC), the area chief and the administrative police. "Since 1996,residents from Kariobangi Sewage farmers slum have been paying the Nairobi County Government Land rates and have title deeds that establish their ownership of the land that they're living on. The residents have records of their land tax payments in the form of receipts dating back to 1996.In April 2019,the residents were issued with a notice of eviction letter by the Cabinet Secretary of Lands and the Nairobi County Government. Following this, there was no further information from the government about the eviction, compensation or resettlement". said a letter from Amnesty international in an appeal to the president. 

Moses Kamau, (25 years), Joseph Muguni(35 years), Shadrack Kimani(23 years), Harun Bonny(23 years), Munyau Mwanza(27years), Mwaniki Kalamba(24 years) and Jackson Mwanza (31years) had a series of recounts of how the demolition had occurred, the slander that had been used against them during the act, the outrage and pain they experienced. The tension was palpable that particular morning and the betrayal could be seen from their faces. 

Moses Kamua,had the most to say and seemed like the most affected. He came to Nairobi some years back to make a living and to help his family back home in Bungoma. He is the first born in a family of 8 and felt the responsibility to cater for the needs of his family and has been doing that one way or another until the demolition happened. "I used to hustle and the little I got I sent some home and used the rest for rent and food. Sometimes I had nothing, woke up the next day to try again and it was a bit comforting because I still had a roof over my head. I wake up one morning and whatever I had left of Nairobi is gone. Every move the bulldozer made seemed like a heavy knockout on our hearts that are still bleeding. Now we're homeless and in a deep desperation. My friends and I here have been struggling a lot these past few days and often questioning whether we're the children of a lesser god". 

Some say their option would've been to travel back to the upcountry but cannot do that considering the restrictions on the metropolitan areas. Moses continued that they have always been paying their rents so the eviction which seemed totally uncalled for came as a shock. No amount of warning or notices could have prepared them for that.The absence of the landlords automatically resulted in the absence of human decency for them. They were nowhere to be seen and that said a lot about whatever it is that was going on. 

 "Some of my friends here are married and with kids back home. Going back to farming or any other business would have been the best way out of this situation but we are trapped here, with broken dreams, dry eyes and hungry stomachs, tip toeing on what seems to be our minelial fate. Living in Nairobi is already a tough call, with constant back and forth fights with hunger and trying to fit in the box of  basic human survival. I had dreams like any other normal human of finishing school and getting a good job but things do not always go as we plan so Nairobi was an option B for me which keeps proving over and over why it should not have been". 

The anger was visible from their faces as they continued to verbally attack the government, the police and the people that carried out the demolitions. "The government has always been failing us in the most painful and expected ways but this was  too degrading. We pay our taxes and do what is required of us but we're always stepped on and harassed. Some aids like food and cash handouts were given but came with some sort of favouritism of who's much closer to who so as to get the first privilege which left some out of it. We cook here by lighting some fire woods which help us keep warm at night too. The food is hardly satisfying and edible but our options are limited. We squeeze whatever we have to fit all of us which includes the bed and sleep deprivation comes as our next guest". 

As hopeless as the situation seems, something can be done about the situation. These guys are still hopeful about the help they can get from the compensation and from good will people. They cannot stay there for long since the construction of the sewer had already begun and that is just what they needed as their last straw to finally try to move on and find somewhere else. The big question is,  is this government's move continuing to open a Pandora's box of constant hatred, misery and rebellion against its own citizens?