Residents from Athi River, Machakos County on Sunday raised the alarm after a group of police officers attempted to evict them from their homes.
Some of the officers were seen covered up with scarves making it hard to identify them. A section of the officers who arrived in police vehicles were armed. Videos seen by Kenyans.co.ke depicted some of them carrying batons.
Residents who spoke to journalists stated they were alerted by the commotion which ensued moments after the officers arrived. It was at this juncture that they were informed demolitions were underway and they were required to vacate.
"I am a hustler, a mama mboga. Please our hustler president, President William Ruto, you said you would take care of us, they demolished our homes, where will I go," one of the residents lamented.
Another local revealed that there were attempts by some unknown people to grab the land in question arguing that there was an ongoing court case.
The resident added that they had occupied the piece of land for decades and no one had come to claim ownership until recently.
He argued that the unnamed individuals had failed to present necessary documents as required and were now resorting to unlawful ways to occupy the land and evict them.
"They are now using police officers who are not from Athi River and officers from GSU who are covered all over and we do not know their intentions here. We are afraid and cannot sleep, our mothers are also worried and their pressure going up due to the fear of losing their homes," he added.
Another resident revealed that he identified one of the officers who informed him that there were some officers from Nairobi to evict the residents.
He alleged that the police officers told him that they had received orders from 'above' to demolish the houses. The officer however did not produce any eviction notice to support his claims.
Following, the impromptu visit by the officers, some residents were seen fighting them off and leading the government vehicles out of the area.
"There are rules to follow in Kenya, you can not just wake up and shut down people's lives," one resident remarked.
The residents called upon President Ruto to intervene and fulfil his promises that no one would be unlawfully evicted from their homes.
In October last year, another dound of demolitions was conducted in Athi River.
