Kibera residents living along the dam-line in Silanga village of Kibera are living in fear of pending evictions, after they were notified to move away from the swampy land along the Nairobi dam.
Most of them have lived here all their lives and have nowhere else to go.
This notification comes in the aftermath of the recent heavy rains that wrecked havoc, not just in the said village, but across the country as a whole.
Silanga was heavily hit, several houses were swept away by floods and a number of people, mostly women and children, lost their lives.
We spoke to Johnstone Muriro, also known as ‘Ras Murish’, a structure owner in the area, who has started demolishing his structures by himself, in order not to be caught unaware when the government will have started the official demolitions
“We are being told to leave but have not been given an alternative place to locate to, so we are just living in fear.’, says Ras Murish,
Ras says that the government had initially intended to demolition the whole of Silanga village which would have affected a bigger population. But after the talks, they agreed to only demolition the structures that were sitting on the swampy area.
There are ongoing talks between the evictees and some of the local NGOs who are have somehow partnered with red cross to come up with a small compensation that can get the evicted residents start off their life elsewhere.
“Those who were affected by the floods from the long rains already left, some went upcountry while others went to live with their relatives. Those whose names have been identified by red cross are not the ones who were affected by floods.” Says a resident who did not want to be identified.
