A storm is brewing in the heart of the Rift Valley, President William Ruto's political stronghold, as hundreds of families face eviction to make way for the government's affordable housing programme.
Those scheduled to be evicted are from Trans-Nzoia, Nakuru and Kericho counties.
More than 200 families have already been evicted from Pioneer Estate in Uasin Gishu County to make way for the President's Pet Housing Project.
The family was evicted from the county government-owned home where they had been tenants for more than 30 years.
Fresh evictions are now looming in Trans-Nzoia, Kericho and Nakuru counties as the government seeks to seize public land to facilitate the implementation of major development projects.
This comes days after President Ruto warned private developers who illegally acquired public land to vacate it or face eviction to enable the rollout of development plans in housing, agriculture and industrialization. It is about.
President Ruto ordered the Ministry of Lands and the National Executive Authority to coordinate the recovery of all public lands illegally occupied for government projects.
In Trans-Nzoia County, more than 5,000 residents are facing eviction to make way for affordable housing construction.
The residents live on 2,700 acres of Kenya Prison land in Kitale, which the government claims was acquired illegally.
United Democratic Alliance (UDA) senator Alan Chesan opposed the eviction and called on President Ruto to rescind the decision as it would likely affect residents.
Chesan, a close friend of the president, said the Trans Nzoia affordable housing project would leave 5,000 residents homeless and disrupt the functioning of institutions such as schools and hospitals.
“This project has the potential to disrupt the lives of those who have established businesses on the land and buried loved ones on the land. I implore President Ruto to reconsider and reverse his decision. For example: , we have a hospital on that land, the Cherangani Nursing Home, which serves a large number of people in Trans Nzoia,” Chesan said.
“It is painful that the government that the people of Trans Nzoia County voted for is evicting them from their land. These are the people who bought the land from others,” Chesan added.
In Kericho County, hundreds of families who have occupied Majengo Tarai area in Kericho Town are facing eviction to make way for the construction of 320 affordable housing units.
The National Youth Service (NYS) has already begun demolishing some of the illegally erected buildings in the area where the first phase of affordable housing will be built.
President Ruto is expected to officially launch an affordable housing project in the county soon.
A week ago, Kericho County Commissioner Gilbert Kitiyo, as he led a team to inspect the 4.5 acres of land, asked families living in the area to leave ahead of the start of the project.
Administrators said existing structures at the site will be demolished, followed by demarcation and brush clearing.
“It is the local population, especially the youth and women, who will benefit from the manual labor during the construction of the houses. Therefore, we strongly encourage you to migrate and pave the way for the construction of houses,” Kitiyo said. said.
The central government plans to build 10,000 houses in Kericho County, as promised by Kenya's Kwanzaa administration.
However, residents appealed to the government to give them enough time to find a new home before the project begins.
In neighboring Nakuru County, residents of the Nyamaroto slum, sandwiched between the Menengai Forest and the Rangesview Estate, are also facing eviction.
Local residents on Tuesday nation They say they are living in fear after reports that the land they have called home for years will be confiscated to make way for affordable housing.
“We were asked to move so that affordable housing could be built. We have been living here for the past many years and we don't know what to do,” said the public. said Mary Mbugua, a resident of the informal settlement. As a gigagi.
Experts cite land grabbing and land disputes as potential threats that could derail projects that would provide affordable housing to Kenyans.
“Government must first deal with land grabbers and resolve land disputes.The Ministry of Lands has a lot of work to do to ensure that these incidents do not derail President Ruto's ambitious development plans for Kenyans. “Yes,” David said. Governance expert Kimani said: nation In a previous interview.
Kericho, Nakuru and Narok are some of the counties where disputes are occurring over land parcels for affordable housing projects.
Another challenge is that there are vast tracts of state-owned land without title deeds, much of which is illegally owned by private individuals.
“Land litigation in court is one of the things that can hinder the realization of affordable housing projects at the county level. National and county governments take most cases out of court to get projects off the ground.” We need to look for alternative ways to resolve the issue,” said attorney Steve Kavita. nation.
