KCB in land tussle with Athi River residents as goons demolish houses

 

Residents armed with a court injunction accuse unknown individuals of defying court orders as millions worth of property is destroyed. [Peterson Githaiga, Standard]

Drama and tension have gripped the Mavoko area in Athi River after a group of more than 100 men reportedly invaded the residential area and embarked on a demolition spree for the second day.

The alleged goons are bringing down houses and destroying property worth millions of shillings in a controversial land dispute involving Kenya Commercial Bank (KCB)

The shocking incident has left homeowners counting losses, with some accusing the individuals behind the demolitions of taking advantage of a pending court case to dispossess them of properties they claim to have legally acquired more than a decade ago.

The affected residents say the men claimed they had been sent by KCB to reclaim the properties.

East African Portland Cement Company had acquired a loan from the Kenya Commercial Bank; after the loan accumulated, Portland decided to hand over the prime piece of land to the Bank as a way of paying the debt.

Residents armed with a court injunction accuse unknown individuals of defying court orders as millions worth of property is destroyed. [Peterson Githaiga, Standard]

Later, KCB decided to sell the land to members of the community who had already settled there.

They had acquired the plots through the Syokimau-Mavoko Land Buying Association in 2014, long before the bank emerged to lay claim to the disputed land.

However, residents accused the bank of exaggerating the price, making it hard for them to afford.

The landowners now maintain that they obtained a court injunction restraining KCB from interfering with their properties pending the determination of the legal dispute.

Despite the ongoing court proceedings, the residents say the demolitions began on Wednesday, with several structures reportedly destroyed as helpless homeowners watched their investments being reduced to rubble.

The developments have sparked outrage, with residents questioning how such an operation could proceed when a court order allegedly protecting their properties remains in force.

One of the affected homeowners, Zakaria Lukman, said he had invested more than Sh30 million in his property, only for a group of men to descend on it.

Lukman described the incident as devastating, saying he could not understand why anyone would resort to demolitions when the matter was still pending in court.

"We are shocked to see this happening. We are wondering who sent these people to demolish our property while the case is still pending in court,” he said, adding, “We have followed the legal process and obtained an injunction, so we do not understand why our investments are being destroyed.”

He said the affected families had spent years building their homes and businesses, only to find themselves facing uncertainty and destruction despite believing that the law was on their side.

Residents armed with a court injunction accuse unknown individuals of defying court orders as millions worth of property is destroyed. [Peterson Githaiga, Standard]

Lukman called on the government and relevant security agencies to intervene urgently and establish who authorised the operation.

Evans Sanja, who operates a tractor yard in the area, said his property worth millions of shillings had also been destroyed during the demolition exercise.

"We are appealing to the government to intervene and address this matter once and for all. Until when are we going to have sleepless nights in our own country? We have invested our money here, and now we are watching everything being destroyed. Who is going to compensate us for these losses?" posed Sanja.

Athi River police boss Carolyne Jebet in her response to the matter, denied that her officers were involved in shielding the goons who were on the demolition spree.

While promising to visit the site Monday next week, Jebet said investigations are underway into who authorised the operations.

Efforts to get a comment from the Kenya Commercial  Bank management were fruitless as calls went unanswered.