Owning a home is the dream of many working class Kenyans. The ownership comes with dignity, security and shelter for family.

A lot of Kenyans are enrolled in many housing schemes with the aim of achieving this goal. Kenya Kwanza administration has passed a law that has paved way for taxation of Kenyans for affordable housing scheme. Affordable Housing Programme (AHP) was launched in December 2017 as one of the national government’s four pillars of growth, in President Ruto’s Big Four Plan. 

AHP promises to deliver 500,000 affordable homes over a five-year period, and involves a number of incentives and supports to enable delivery of affordable housing.

It is amidst this clamour for housing that some Kenyans were duped into buying land that belonged to Portland Cement. Their properties, some of them invested through pensions, were destroyed to revert the land to the cement manufacturer following a court order.

 Some lost a lifetime of investments and dreams were shuttered. Sale of the land was blamed on cartels working with government officials. It is ironical that despite the illegal acquisition, transactions were given a stamp of authority through issuance of title deeds.  And now, in what could be a repeat of the Portland-type demolitions, over a 1,000 residents of Njiru and Mihang’o in Embakasi have been ordered to vacate acres of land in Njiru, Chokaa, and Mihango which the court declared belonged  to former Starehe MP Gerishon Kirima.

The affected families have already gone to court seeking orders that will forestall imminent demolitions.  As they say, the law is a double edged sword.  Our judicial system is adversarial. This means, one of the parties will either be a winner or loser in the case. That is why we encourage the warring parties to come to seek dialogue with the aim of reaching amicable solutions to avert painful losses.

We believe it is possible for the Kirimas and affected families to strike an agreement to prevent what will be disruption of livelihoods and displaced of people. And while the victims take a portion of responsibility for their predicament, we think the government is not without blemish. It should protect vulnerable land buyers from dubious sellers working in cahoots with State officials.