Kibera slums families evicted from new houses

By Ally Jamah

Several families from Kibera slums in Nairobi were kicked out of new homes they occupied last year under the slum upgrading project.

On Monday, belongings of at least three families were dumped outside the main gate of the Kibera Decanting Site Housing Scheme in Lang’ata while more families are set for eviction due to non-payment of rent.

Ten other families that were earmarked for eviction on Monday left early to avoid the embarrassment. Regulations prohibit evictions in the owner’s absence.

Brief clashes were reported after one of the tenants resisted attempts to evict him, but police contained the situation.

One of the supervisors, who declined to be named said, they are targeting families that have never paid any money since they were moved into the houses in early 2010.

Some of the families were ejected for allegedly brewing chang’aa inside the houses in violation of laid-down rules.

"I received a notice to vacate only 7 days ago and I didn’t have enough time to look for another house. Now where I am going to take my belongings," lamented Fidelis Ntambo outside the gates as he looked at his belongings lying on the roadside.

Another evictee claimed that he was unfairly targeted claiming that many other people have not paid rents but have been allowed to stay on.

Electricity

All the tenants occupying the 632 houses are supposed to pay Sh1,000 monthly, which includes Sh500 for water and electricity, but many simply don’t pay. "They don’t seem interested in paying their dues. When they are asked to settle their monthly rent, they dismiss the caretakers saying the houses should be free of charge," revealed a source who sought anonymity as he lacks authority to speak to the media.

Other sources indicated that taxpayers are losing millions of shillings every year to the project since many households consume more electricity than they pay for.

"Some people are using as much as Sh10,000 worth of electricity every month, without paying any money for rent. It means taxpayers are losing money since they are the ones footing the bills," said the source.

Officials of the Housing Ministry revealed of plans to introduce prepaid electricity meters to cut down on the huge bills.

The slum upgrading programme aims at improving the lives of people living and working in the slums and informal settlements in all urban areas of Kenya and to contribute to poverty reduction.