Woodley Residents Sue Over Planned Eviction for Construction of Houses
Over 2000 aggrieved residents of Woodley estate have filed a petition seeking to stop their eviction to pave way for affordable housing project.
In a petition filed by Woodley residents welfare association, Wanja Kimani, Peter Ngatia, John Mugwe and Samson Mugacha Mwangi, they are seeking the court’s intervention to suspend the eviction of families and their investments.
The residents argue that no proper public participation has been conducted in Woodley estate.
They claim that they received short-notice letters for meetings with unclear agendas, failing to meet the legal requirement of providing at least 21 days notice and holding multiple meetings for public participation.
Through their lawyer Danstan Omari, they argue that the imminent eviction without any clear re-development plan will disrupt their livelihoods and affect their ability to support their families.
“The biggest concern is that the intended Project, whose groundbreaking is set to begin within the next one month, is set to evict the residents of Woodley, an action which will bring down over 3000 families and their investments in the area,” read court documents.
According to them, they have lived in Woodley for over 50 years, contributing to its historical and cultural significance.
They have also built essential amenities such as shops, hospitals, schools, and churches.
The City Council (now Nairobi County) initially planned to sell houses in Woodley to tenants, but corruption allowed non-tenants to buy, leading to legal action by residents which halted the sale.
On June 21, 2021, the Nairobi Metropolitan Services (NMS) assured that tenants would get priority in future projects and that public participation would be included.
However, the Nairobi county boss Johnson Sakaja now wants to evict them without public consultation to proceed with the Affordable Housing Project.
They allege that he has reportedly signed a contract with Africareit LTD to design and build this project, which threatens to permanently displace them.
“The Petitioners/Applicants are fearful that the 1st Respondent, his agents or servants may succeed with their illegal actions due to their influence as the entire transaction is shrouded in mystery in illegal dealing with public property likely to be scandalous and this will deny families of the Petitioners/Applicants a right to be heard,” argues Omari.
Omari says there are no reports of indication from valuers, quantity surveyors nor other specialists to inform on how Governor Sakaja intends to draft a compensation plan for the residents in case they are evicted.
Furthermore, they argue that there are no environmental reports and infrastructure plans for old sewer systems.
“In the interim and pending the hearing and determination of this application, the Honourable Court be pleased to issue a temporary order of injunction restraining the Respondents whether by themselves, their servants, agents, or any person whomsoever from doing any act interfering with the Applicant’s quiet, peaceful, actual and exclusive possession and enjoyment of the Land known as Woodley/Joseph Kang’ethe Estate or Land Parcel NO. LR No 209/13539,” read court documents.
In the petition, the county government of Nairobi, the Attorney General and Ministry of Land, Housing and Urban Development have been sued.