Temperatures dipped to a frigid 11 degrees centigrade in Nairobi on Monday 23 July. In the large informal settlement of Kibera, on one of the coldest nights of the year, residents surveyed the wreckage of their community. Bulldozers from the Kenya Urban Roads Authority (KURA) had spent the day tearing down houses, schools, businesses – the beginning of a process that will make 30,000 people homeless.
Kibera residents, whose homes were built on public land set aside for an expansion of the road network, were only given a few days to vacate the area. KURA’s actions have been condemned for betraying the Resettlement Action Plan that it signed up for, as well as Kenyan law, which allows for residents to reclaim their property and be given adequate notice before eviction.
