By  Jacob Ng’etich

NAIROBI, KENYA: For Mr Shazir Ali Musa, Allah is great, for the torturous journey he has been through in the last two years since he lost his home is almost over. Shariz remembers the fateful morning when bulldozers came charging at his timber and iron sheet houses, leaving a trail of loss, destroying his home and those of more than 15,000 others.

“We had initially been given notice to vacate the place by the Kenya Airports Authority but we went to court to seek an injunction which we obtained, barring it from executing the demolition order,” said Shariz.

It therefore came as a surprise that their residences were brought down when they were sitting comfortably with the court order.

No home

“We were comfortable that the courts had us covered as we sought the way forward. We never expected them to overlook the Judiciary,” said the father of one.

Shazir said when his house was flattened, some of his valuables were still in it and was hence destroyed, but he was lucky to have salvaged some before the bulldozer pulled down his house. “I salvaged a few, and my sister who is married in Buru Buru took some chairs and bed to her home. I remained with things I needed to use, like sufurias and blankets,” he said. The 29-year-old lost not only a home but also an income, for he owned four other houses and would receive a monthly rent before the November 19 2011 demolitions. “From a landlord with a monthly income, I became a destitute with no home. Then my wife was pregnant with our first born, but we slept outside for a couple of days before I got her to stay at my sister’s place,” said Shariz who operates a boda boda business at Nairobi West.

The story of Shariz, who came from Mombasa when he was young and took over from his elder sister in the Mitumba Village when she got married, is replicated among the thousands of residents of the village next to Wilson Airport.

Ms Rachel Nyambmuku, popularly known as Mama Medo had just finished serving her last-born son who was in nursery school breakfast when her house was pulled down. “We were relaxed because of the court injunction and so we were caught unawares.  The children cried hysterically when they came back for lunch,” said Mama Medo. Like Shazir, the mother of three also lost three houses that she was renting out.

It was therefore a moment of joy when High Court Judge Mumbi Ngugi over a week ago directed the Kenya Airports Authority, the Attorney General and the Commissioner of Lands – the three respondents in the Mitumba Village petition against their eviction to resettle the affected. The respondents on behalf of the Government were given a period not exceeding 60 days to work out a policy on the resettlement programme for the residents whom she termed as a marginalised group.

The judge said the Government failed to address the plight of the slum dwellers before it kicked them out. She said that in her findings, it was clear that the demolition was a case of violation of human rights where a whole community was deprived of its residence and business premises despite a stay order.

“There was also a court order stopping the demolitions at Mitumba slums when the State bulldozers started the demolition and therefore the Government must now ensure the relief of the affected families since the demolition was irregular and illegal,” Mumbi said.

She directed the State to resettle over 15,000 residents of at the informal settlement pending their compensation. Mumbi said the forceful eviction without re-allocation was illegal, and that it went against the Constitution and affected access to education, water and health care amongst other basic human needs.

“Article 10 of the Constitution sets out the national values and principles of governance that bind all State officers – equity, inclusiveness, non-discrimination, good governance and accountability.

Safeguard interests

In this case the State is duty bound to safeguard the interests of minorities as it was a signatory to the protection of social rights and its agents,” she read.

The Judge ordered that within 90 days the respondents should have engaged the petitioners in identifying an appropriate solution and file an affidavit.

To Shariz, there is light at the end of the tunnel for him and other victims as they await resettlement. The victory of Mitumba Village residents was welcomed far and beyond in other parts of Nairobi and Machakos County where hundreds of other people had suffered the same fate.

Two more cases related to such demolitions in Syokimau and Eastleigh that saw the bulldozer’s hand raze down rental buildings are still pending at the High Court, and the ruling is expected next month.

Mr Ben Avaga, who lost not only a newly built four-bedroom bungalow but also a primary school, rejoiced in the ruling that seemed to offer hope for their case.

“When our brothers and sisters in Mitumba Village won the case, I was happy for them and I hope our case will also go through, ” said Avaga.

Tony Kiirinya, another victim of the Syokimau demolition also welcomed the case that he said offered a glimmer of hope. “We have always asked ourselves why the Government did this to us, but it seems there is hope.  The courts are our refuge and given the victory in the Mitumba residents case, we can only expect better things,” said Mr Kiriinya who lost a Sh8 million-worth five-bed room bungalow.