Marigoini residents in Nairobi's South B have protested over planned evictions to pave the way for the government's Affordable Housing project in the estate.
Specifically, the residents have taken issue with the government's offer of Ksh30,000 for them to move from the area, saying it is too little.
The residents have accused both the area MCA, Waithera Chege, and government officials of lacking transparency in how the relocation process is being managed.
The residents claimed that immediately after they received the 21-day eviction notice, they rushed to court and obtained a court order that put on hold the relocation process. But later on, some people were receiving money from unknown sources.
“Yesterday evening, some people were receiving money at 10 pm, but for us, despite having the necessary card and in her own words, the MCA has stated that we cannot continue living here,” a woman protested.
Other residents also criticised the MCA for communicating via social media rather than engaging directly with those affected.
“Unfortunately, yesterday we saw people receiving money despite us having no agreement with the ministry, and instead of our area MCA coming and addressing the issues on the ground, she is speaking to the people through her social media pages,” a resident cited.
The MCA, however, disputed these claims, stating that those who took part in the protests were not genuine Marigoini residents.
“When we did public participation, the residents of Marigoini requested that they be facilitated to remove their things to where they were moving to. So what they asked for is a transport allowance to move their goods and their children to the place they were moving to,” she stated.
She also emphasised that more than 4,000 residents had already been listed to receive the facilitation fee and assured that payments for the remaining eligible households would follow.
She then went ahead and showed the media the sample of the cards they issued to residents in December 19, 2011.
