Just two days after more than 300 buildings built on riparian land were brought down in Kisii, some tycoons in the city have begun rebuilding their businesses.
In what appears to be a clear display of impunity and blatant disregard of the law, the business people reportedly tried to prevent the demolitions on Friday.
“Hotels which had been targeted for demolition in Daraja Moja, Daraja Mbili and Mwembe are already operating. It is because the damage was minimal and owners have found it very easy to move on,” a resident revealed to the Nation.
The week-long campaign saw more than 300 buildings demolished with those bearing the greatest loss being ordinary citizens whereas those of the rich were barely touched.
The police arrested the owner of Diploz hotel after hired goons tried to disrupt the demolition of a bridge leading to his premises and connecting the main Kisii-Kisumu road.
According to a county government official, the bridge was built on a parcel of land meant for the Kisii People’s Park
“We managed to arrest one Alloys Moseti who is the owner of the hotel for obstructing people who were carrying out the demolition in the morning. He was later released on a cash bail of Ksh50,000 and he is set to appear in court on Monday (today),” said the county deputy police commander Caleb Matoke.
The bridge was later in the evening demolished after it was established that a court order produced to prevent the demolition was invalid.
The tycoons, mostly former councillors, are believed to have used their powers while serving in the county council of Kisii to allocate themselves land illegally.
The operation was led by a multi-agency team comprising officers from the National Environment Management Authority, Kisii County government, National Youth Service, the National Disaster Management Unit, the Water Resources Management Authority and the National Building and Construction Inspectorate.
