Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja has strongly condemned the planned demolitions in Mukuru kwa Njenga informal settlement, terming the evictions illegal and unauthorised amid a standoff over disputed land earmarked for the construction of the Catherine Ndereba Road.
Tension flared early Tuesday morning after a heavy police presence descended on the area before dawn, triggering protests from residents who opposed the impending demolitions. Officers later fired teargas to disperse crowds as anger spread through the settlement.
Speaking to the media after the chaotic scenes, Governor Sakaja said the construction plans had not followed the required legal and administrative procedures and could not proceed without county approval.
“How do you have feeder roads being marked and have not been passed by our planning committee and the County Executive Committee (CEC). No agency can pupport to do work that belongs to the county without signoff from the county government. The decision has been made in another place,” Sakaja said.
He added that any agreement on road access must go hand in hand with clear compensation arrangements for affected residents.
“The day that we agree on the access points, we must also have agreed on the compensation and the extent of it,” he said.
The governor faulted authorities for resorting to force instead of engaging residents through dialogue and public participation, warning that such actions only deepen mistrust and suffering.
“It is easy to sit with the people. Like all the roads we have done here have been done by speaking to the people, not by using force. All these officers here would make you think there is a terrorist activity here,” Sakaja said.
“These are innocent people. They are not animals that you come upon them at night. It is the most unfortunate incident. We will midwife a process with the people,” he added.
Sakaja confirmed that the county government had begun steps to compensate affected families, noting that officials were compiling a list of residents and assessing the damage caused during the attempted evictions.
The disputed 30-metre-wide Catherine Ndereba Road, named after Kenya’s world champion marathon runner, is designed to link Mukuru kwa Njenga to the industrial area, Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA), and the Nairobi Expressway.
The governor insisted that the project would only move forward after full compliance with county planning laws, public participation requirements, and fair compensation for all affected residents.
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