Residents from Kisii estate in Thika, Kiambu County have been rendered homeless and left counting losses after Kenya Power demolished their houses claiming they had been put up along the wayleaves.
The demolitions, which started Wednesday early morning, saw locals watch helplessly as demolition machinery such as bulldozers collapsed their houses.
Some such as John Mwangi who built a semi-permanent dwelling after he was hardly hit by the effects of Covid-19 were only left with an option of salvaging the little they could as the early morning raid caught most of them unaware.
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In an exercise that was done in the presence of armed police officers, some of the locals claimed to have legal land ownership documents and legal power supply.
The irked residents said that while the lighting company had issued them with a one-week notice, they have nowhere to run or money to settle elsewhere.
They asked the government to share the huge chunks of land leased to colonialists among landless Kenyans to help them venture into agriculture and live decent lives.
“We are requesting the government to share the land leased to colonialists among us landless Kenyans to help us pursue agricultural activities and for settlement purposes otherwise we have nowhere to run or money to start a new life,” Mwangi noted.
According to Winfred Syombua who settled at the sprawling village in 2015, the company undertaking the demolition exercise was discriminatory as it delayed the demolition of apartments in the area that are also deemed to be along the power corridor.
“There are apartments that they have spared and instead, they decided to come for make-shift homes whose owners got them legally and we have the documents. This demolition has left us more devastated as we were not even given enough time to plan our relocation,” she said.
Kenya Power Security Services Manager Geoffrey Kigen who addressed journalists during the exercise revealed that the company was removing structures along the powerline to enhance the safety of customers and the reliability of power supply.
"When people construct houses along the powerlines, they not only risk their lives but also affect the reliability of our suppliers because our people are unable to access the power lines during maintenance," he noted.
He said that crackdown will continue to ensure that no Kenyan, even in other areas, is left risking their lives of destabilizing power maintenance by virtue of leaving along the power lines.
