Orphans at the Hi-Jung Ho Children’s Home in Thome Estate, Nairobi, were left stranded after a politician reportedly demolished the buildings on Friday, January 27.
Managers of the home claimed that the area MCA and city-county officers charged into the premises and authorised the demolitions.
The MCA alleged that he received intel of underway unauthorised construction, a statement the children's home managers refuted.
“They came here for the second time claiming that we were constructing a new building without permission from the county government. There is no construction going on here,” Alexandra Makau, manager of Hi- Jung Children’s home, complained.
Additionally, the managers stated that the home's property, whose value they had not determined by the time this article was written, was destroyed.
The management appealed to President William Ruto to address the matter soon to rescue the orphans from their plight.
“This home was constructed in 1998. We want the President to ensure that the system does not hurt the vulnerable people in this country,“ Peter Mwangi, one of the managers, stated.
Explaining the situation, the manager added that the MCA ordered them to evacuate the home by Monday, January 30, threatening them with arbitrary detentions.
“We have been told to evacuate the building by Monday, January 30. The county officials told us they would make sure we are all detained if they find us here by then,” Makau lamented.
Mwangi additionally alleged that they had not been issued a court order for the demolition.
“These children have lived here for a very long time, some of them are now adults, where are they expected to go?” Mwangi lamented.
One of the residents appealed to Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja to clarify whether he approved the demolition.
“We are asking the governor, please let us know if you gave orders to the MCA to bring down our home,” the resident stated.
Hi-Jung Ho Children’s Home, named after the Koreans who owned and funded it, had existed for 20 years.
