Families Spend Nights In The Cold After County Bulldozers Demolish Their Homes.
 |
| Virginia Wanjiru narrating her ordeal to the press outside her demolished house. |
The joy of having
their roads upgraded by Murang’a County Government turned into tears and
suffering for a number of families who were left to spend about three nights in
the cold after the county bulldozers demolished their residential houses in Nguruwa-ini,
Rwanganga Village in Kahumbu Ward, Kigumo Constituency.
The victims, who include women and children, were not even
allowed to take out their basic belongings before the houses were tore down by
these powerful machines. They claim that they had no prior information that
they had encroached on road reserve and their pleas for time to safely remove
their belongings fell on deaf ears as the bulldozer driver ignored them and
went ahead to demolish the houses. The families faulted the move saying they
were not given demolition notice nor time to seek alternative place to live.
After the operation that lasted more than two hours was
over, the authorities went away, leaving in their wake a trail of destruction
and a number of unanswered questions. In all, 5 homesteads were demolished
throwing at least 7 families in the cold. Disfigured structures, twisted iron sheets and
scattered household goods littered the village.
Sad faces of men, women and children who have been
dispossessed and displaced greeted us visitors to the village. Their
countenance bespoke volumes about siege and intimidation they endured in the
hands of authorities.
Speaking to the press, one of the victims who resided in one
of the demolished houses expressed her furry blaming their area MCA Eric
Kamande and Governor Mwangi Wa Iria for their mess.
“Who do we turn to now if the same leaders that we expect to
protect us are the same ones that are messing us up? Since the 20th
(of this month), I have been spending the nights in the cold with my
grandchildren. Some of my belongings were destroyed when the wall of my house
fell on them,” said 80 year old Virginia Wanjiru.
She claims that the bulldozer was under the instruction of
their MCA to clear the rubble on the ward’s access roads.
He says that he received a phone call from a distraught
neighbour at around 11 in the morning asking him to leave a burial ceremony he
had attended in order to attend an emergency at home. On arrival, he found his
house severely damaged from the impact of the bulldozer’s demolition.
 |
| Wanton destruction of property as witnessed by our visit to the area. |
His 2-bedroomed house developed cracks on the walls,
rendering it dangerous to for human habitation. He adds that his sty was pulled
down and in the process, breaking the leg of one of his pigs. Muchoki also lost
his cow pen, his pit latrine as well as having his banana plants and trees were
uprooted in the process.
Jane Wambui has God to thank after she managed to rescue her
sick son from the house he was sleeping.
“As the bulldozer was clearing this area, I tried to plead
with the driver to stop for there was a sick child inside but he could not hear
anything of the sort. When he started hitting the house, I risked my life to
dash into the house to save my son,” she said.
She appealed to the national government under President
Uhuru Kenyatta to come to their rescue.
Their efforts to get help from Kahumbu chief bore no fruits
as he directed them to seek the audience of their area MCA.
Efforts to reach the MCA were fruitless as our calls went unanswered.
No comments: