The Nairobi Metropolitan Services (NMS) has revealed that more houses in select city estates are set to be demolished if the court orders are implemented.
Areas targetted include illegal structures located at Eadrome Road in Nairobi West, upcoming slum dwellings at Ole Sereni along Mombasa road, illegal structures along the wall of East African and Concrete Company Limited in Embakasi.
Other areas include illegal structures located along Manyanja road within Umoja, Kiamaiko, structures along the perimeter wall of Kenya Builders and Concrete Company Limited as well as surrounding areas of Kware and Pipeline.
Illegal containers placed at Huruma playground by community-based organizations (CBOs) will also be targetted in the operation.
NMS Boss Mohammed Badi detailed the reasons for demolitions while appearing before the Senate's Devolution and Intergovernmental Committee.
He, however, distanced himself from the Pumwani and Eastleigh evictions, pointing out that he did not issue the authorisation.
“Nomad wrote to NMS requesting us to help in evictions, but we referred nomad to the Nairobi regional security committee as NMS has no such power. A multi-agency committee comprising all government agencies removed the individuals that encroached the parcels of land,” he stated.
The NMS boss was put to task by Senators to prove how NMS officers did not participate in the demolitions that saw thousands of Nairobi residents spent nights in the cold.
The committee chairperson cum Homa Bay Senator, Moses Kajwang, sought to find out the best practices put in place by NMS for carrying out future demolitions in order to avoid treating Kenyans inhumanely.
“I think you are struggling too much to wash your hands off this matter, what we are asking is not just about your personal culpability, we are asking what are the steps? What is the best practice for carrying out these demolitions? We are not trying to fix you,” Kajwang stated.
The NMS, formed on March 9, 2020, was tasked with issuing documents, approving evictions and demolitions as part of the ongoing Urban renewal program.
