Nairobi-based televangelist Bishop Thomas Wahome and over 800 Lang'ata residents living near Nairobi Dam have moved to court seeking to block the government from evicting them from a parcel of land that the authorities claim is riparian.
According to the documents filed in court on Wednesday, May 8, 2024, the Bishop's church (Helicopter of Christ Church) and the residents are alleged to have encroached into the Nairobi Dam and put up structures.
The petitioners told the court that they are living in fear after the National Environment Management Authority (NEMA) ordered the Water Resources Management Authority (WARMA) to evict them from the land, as on Tuesday evening, bulldozers started streaming ahead of the massive demolition of the church and houses.
Eviction
The gist of the petitioners' case is that the planned eviction is illegal because the court had ordered for status quo on January 9, 2023, pending the determination of a legal dispute concerning ownership and occupation of the land known as Nairobi Block 106 (Nairobi Dam).
"The suit is still ongoing before court but NEMA has decided that they are no longer subject to the jurisdiction of this court and have sought a way of escaping the jurisdiction by instructing WARMA to proceed with the destruction of the property," says the petitioners.
They add that WARMA had initially confirmed that the residential houses together with the church are situated more than 100 meters away from the dam.
Alleging discrimination and malice, the petitioners told the court that there were other houses closer to the dam that were not being targeted for demolition.
"WARMA states that under the directive of NEMA, they have been told to demolish the property which houses the church. There is not even a scent of shame as to how they are leaving houses that are closer to the dam than the church and singling out the church for persecution. Defiance of NEMA has placed more than 800 families, who are very far from the dam, at the risk of displacement, destruction of their homes and property, and loss of their lives," reads the court papers.
The case has been filed at the Environment and Lands Court in Milimani, Nairobi, and the petitioners have listed NEMA, Registrar of Lands, Attorney-General, Dam Estate Association of Residence, and the Nairobi City County Government as the respondents.
Justice Judy Omange has directed the respondents to file their responses to the suit within seven days and slated the case for mention on May 13, 2024.
The petitioners want the court to certify the case as urgent and issue interim orders stopping the eviction pending determination of the suit.
