A landlord from Naivasha has been left to count his losses after a group of men from the area brought down his rental houses.
The incident was triggered by allegations from the neighbouring residents that the landlord was grabbing parcels of land in Kabati, Nakuru County.
According to them, the suspect had been targeting pieces of unoccupied land, erecting temporary structures to assert ownership, and then building rental housing.
One of the aggrieved victims noted that he found his land occupied, leaving him with no other option but to take matters into his own hands and kick the suspected land grabber.
"We want the police to intervene and send this man back home. We are here because he had stolen this piece of land," he stated.
According to the locals, the man had been grabbing land for years but the police had not made any arrests or carried out necessary investigations.
In one instance, a victim noted that the suspect was asked to present documents proving ownership but ignored the directive and continued with the construction.
They accused him of failing to follow building guidelines and constructing inhabitable and risky rental houses.
"Who is this man and why are they allowing him to continue? He has grabbed multiple parcels of land here in Kabati," one of the residents remarked.
That is why on Tuesday the residents, armed with sledgehammers, executed the self-assigned demolition job which left a messy trail of windows and rubble. They spared no house, as some of their targeted residences seemed to be occupied.
They could be heard remarking on how many plots had been stolen, seemingly spurring them on in their endeavour. As destructive as their practice had been, they were still keen on staying careful to avoid injuries.
Occupants were forced to vacate their households after the mob threw out their items.
Additionally, a bulldozer was also at the scene to demolish the homes. Police at the scene interacted with some of the victims but did not stop the demolitions.
Residents remarked that efforts to report the matter to the relevant officers were futile. They opined that they were in cahoots with influential officials from the land's docket.
