10,000 residents of Nyayo Estate in Ruaraka, Nairobi will be evicted after a court granted the Nairobi Metropolitan Services (NMS) orders to demolish the houses in a slum upgrading project.
The residents had moved to court to stop a planned eviction by the government that will see their houses demolished in the program that would also see the setting up of a sewerage treatment plant. The estate sits close to the Korogocho and Kariobangi informal settlements.
They sought to bar the Director-General Nairobi Metropolitan Services, Nairobi Water and Sewerage Company, Police Inspector General and Cabinet Secretary for Water and Sanitation from carrying out the project.
The residents told the court that they had resided in the area for over 30 years with the estate being established by the late President Daniel Arap Moi in 1997.
While dismissing the case, Justice Kossy Bor noted that the petitioners failed to prove ownership of the land that had been set aside for the developments.
A survey coordinator told the court that he had observed that in the recent past, land set aside for sewerage treatment works had been encroached onto and grabbed by people.
"Athi Water Agencies were called upon to mark the boundary at the Kariobangi sewerage treatment plant and it emerged from that exercise that several permanent and semi-permanent dwellings had been constructed on the suit land being L.R. No. 8285/161 measuring approximately 75 acres registered in the name of the City Council of Nairobi," the surveyor stated.
The NMS has embarked on an urban renewal program which will see a number of houses in select estates demolished with the agency putting up new structures.
In the program, the old housing stock will be demolished in a phased manner as construction is completed.
Already works are underway in Pangani with housing units nearing completion. Also under phase one of the program are Jevanjee/Bachelors Quarters, Old Ngara, New Ngara, Ngong Road Phase 1, Ngong Road Phase 2, and Suna Road sites.
NMS revealed that the projects were at different levels of implementation. NMS Boss Mohammed Badi revealed that phase two of the project would affect buildings in Woodley, Ziwani, Bahati, Maringo, Jericho, Lumumba, Bondeni, California, Embakasi and Kariobangi North.
Existing tenants will be given a chance to purchase housing units through a Tenant Purchase Scheme over a long period of time while a portion of the units will also be retained for rental purposes by the Nairobi City County.
The agency noted that the redevelopment of old Nairobi City County Government estates would increase housing stock and improve related environmental, economic, social and physical infrastructure.
