Makueni Senator Mutula Kilonzo Jnr on Tuesday, May 5 tore into the government over demolitions in Kariobangi North, Nairobi which on Monday, May 4 left thousands homeless.
He stated that the government had committed an international crime and violated human rights with the evictions, calling for the Senate to quickly take action to help the affected families.
The lawmaker also called out his colleagues from the Jubilee Party, the majority side in Parliament, for complaining like those in the opposition, sparking a quick rejoinder from Nairobi Senator Johnson Sakaja and his Elgeyo-Marakwet counterpart, Senate Majority Leader Kipchumba Murkomen.
Comparing the evictions in Kairobangi to the handling of land-slides in Elgeyo-Marakwet, Mutula asserted that recent events had made it clear that the government did not value Kenyans.
"What is happening in Nairobi, particularly the evictions, is a violation of human rights. What is happening in Nairobi, in the middle of a pandemic, is actually an international crime.
"It's an international crime because those people are staying out in the cold, they are mixing with people whom they don't know if they are infected.
"Something is wrong with this government. God needs to find something about this government, there's something wrong about how this government treats human beings. It's as if this government was elected by cows and goats," he stated.
Residents who were evicted in Kariobangi were given 24 hours to vacate the area, with the government claiming the land they lived on belongs to the Dandora Estate Waste Sewerage Treatment Plant in Ruai.
Many of those evicted questioned what the government expected them to do after leaving them homeless during a pandemic, wondering how they were expected to observe rules on social distancing and curfew with nowhere to go.
Mutula's observation that lawmakers on the majority side were behind endless complaints, however, drew a sharp response from Sakaja and Murkomen.
"Majority of the complaints are from the side where they are in government. People on this side (Minority) I wonder, what are we supposed to do when the majority of people issuing complaints are on the majority side?" he posed.
Sakaja asserted that it was the role of legislators from both sides to oversight the government, a statement that was reiterated by Murkomen.
Mutula went on to call for the Senate Ad-Hoc Committee led by Sakaja to find a way of immediately helping the evicted individuals.
"There's no difference between what happened in Elgeyo-Marakwet when people were abandoned after the mud-slides, or in Solai when people died. There's no difference with what is happening in Nairobi.
"All of it is the same, the same line, a government that does not value human beings. Power to them is sweet, it's sweeter when it's concentrated. Power corrupts, it has corrupted.
"I agree with Senator Murkomen on the point that we cannot wait for a week. Children are hungry, it's possible that no one is going to offer any of these landless people accomodation, it's sad," he asserted.
Mutula called for Senators to go to Kariobangi and establish how life was moving on, calling for them to be provided with protective equipment, masks and a solution of food.
Mutula warned his colleagues that history would not remember those on the government side kindly if they did not take action.
Watch part of Mutula's speech in the video below:
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