A house owned by West Kenya Sugar Company Chairman Jaswant Rai was among the units demolished on Monday, November 27, in Kakamega County.
Rai’s palatial house, and a rental property were among the houses targeted in the demolition exercise meant to pave way for an upcoming affordable housing project.
Among those affected were civil servants including judges who had rented units in the estate.
According to witnesses, the bulldozers descended on the houses in Kakamega’s Milimani estate on the night of Monday, leaving hundreds counting losses and displaced.
Again, the residents protested the manner in which the state conducted the demolitions with some decrying that they were left with no place to turn to.
At the time, police officers armed with teargas cannisters patrolled the area to enforce the demolitions.
“We were in the house at around 11pm, we heard the sound of a bulldozer, but we initially thought it was just passing,” a resident in the area said while speaking to the media.
The demolitions had been ongoing in other parts of the estate coming after the lapse of a notice issued to the residents.
Some of the affected residents and landlords had also filed suits challenging their imminent eviction and demolitions from the estate.
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On Tuesday, some of the affected residents claimed that they had court orders secured to prevent any demolitions targeting their units.
Further, they affirmed their right to ownership of the property with some explaining that they had been living in the area for close to three decades.
During the exercise, officers from the Kenya Wildlife Service rescued a tortoise and a snake from the property.
Rai struggles under Ruto government
The demolition of Rai’s house added to his tribulations under the Kenya Kwanza administration.
In September, the billionaire with vast interests in various sectors had been embroiled in a tussle with the state regarding the state of Kenya’s sugar industry.
President Ruto in what came to be famous warned that his government would take firm action against anybody standing on the way to realizing reforms in the sectors, sentiments which were closely linked to the billionaire.
Also, The housing project lined up for implementation in the area is part of the nationwide housing drive under President William Ruto’s administration.
President Ruto had in August launched the construction of over 200 units in the Milimani estate.
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At the time, the government had projected creation of over 3,500 jobs inclusive of youth in the artisan jobs such as designing windows and doors.
The project, as per design would take up 50,000 acres in part of the efforts to upgrade housing in the Western Kenya town and strengthen its bid for a city status.
Speaking on Tuesday, President Ruto yet again affirmed the government’s intentions to continue with the project noting that it had created 120,000 jobs.
“We will have a robust housing program not because we are looking for houses necessarily but because housing creates millions of jobs,” he said during a labour conference in Nairobi.
