Kisumu City Manager issues 48 hour-ultimatum to Railways MD over demolition

Kisumu Acting City Manager Abala Wanga visits the site at Otonglo area where premises have been demolished including a market site belonging to the county Government  of Kisumu.Abala has given the Managing Director a 48 hour ultimatum to engage the county government of Kisumu and stop the demolition-Photo By Dickson Odhiambo

By Dickson Odhiambo

   February 8, 2021

Kisumu City Manager issues 48 hour-ultimatum to Railways MD over demolition

The ongoing demolition in Kisumu City by the Kenya Railways Corporation has not gone down well with a number of stakeholders who now want it stopped immediately.

Stakeholders claim that the demolitions that were allegedly done last Friday night by the Kenya Railways Corporation in Kibos area targeting the Nubian community where over 3,000 households were demolished and the one carried out yesterday  in Otonglo area have really affected them and their livelihoods.

The Kisumu City Management has now given ultimatum to the Managing Director of Kenya Railways Corporation a period 48 hours to come to Kisumu and hold discussions with the Kisumu Governor Prof Peter Anyang Nyong’o over the issue of demolition.

Addressing the press at Otonglo area in Kisumu County today after touring the area that has been demolished, Kisumu City Acting Manager Abala Wanga said it is very unfortunate that part of the site of a market place which the County Government of Kisumu is constructing through the Kisumu Urban Project has too been demolished despite not being part of the land belonging to the Kenya Railways.

He says the place where the market site is located is opposite the Railways land more than 100 meters hence wondered why part of it has demolished as well as other premises belonging to private individuals.

Abala says the episode of demolition by the Kenya Railways has caused a lot of pain in parts of Kisumu County.

“This demolition has caused a lot of pain to the people of Kisumu right from Muhoroni, Kibos, Otonglo, Maseno and Lela,” Abala says.

The Kisumu City Manage claims that the Governor of Kisumu Prof Peter Anyang Nyong’o last Saturday called and advised the Managing Director Kenya Railways to stop what he has termed as erratic demolition.

“The Managing Director of Kenya Railways Corporation ignored the Kisumu Governor on this issue and they have continued with the demolition. They went to Kibos and even demolished even the interior where the villagers live,” he adds.

Abala says the Kisumu County Leadership has been meeting the Kenya Railways Corporation and the County Government of Kisumu has greatly helped the Corporation to repossess some of their houses within the posh Mlimani Estate that were grabbed by some powerful individuals.

Abala maintains that the Market will be built at the place it had been earmarked, adding the Kenya Railways should do proper survey within the land and mark its properties well.

The City Manager says they have also engaged in demolition of premises to repossess their land which had been grabbed but have been doing so not in a rogue manner. 

The Management of the Kenya Railways Corporation could not be reached for comments on the matter.

Earlier in the morning, a section of Otonglo area residents took to streets and peacefully demonstrated against the demolition that has seen a number of their premises destroyed within the area.

The peaceful demonstrators consisting of traders question why their premises which are more than 100 meters away have been demolished.

The residents had threatened to pull out the railway line but were restrained by their leaders not to do so, adding that the demolished premises must be compensated by the Kenya Railways corporation.

“We are demanding that the traders whose properties have been demolished must be compensated,” one of the traders says.

One of the traders’ leaders Marcellus Odhiambo Baraka and a human right Activist Michael Nyaguti of Magnam Environmental Network said the demolished must stop and traders must be engaged in a public participation process.

Meanwhile, the County Government of Kisumu has provided a piece of land to temporary settle the evictees of Kibos area.

Kisumu City Manager who visited the place said the members of the Nubian Community whose houses were demolished last Friday night will now temporarily settle at a piece of land near Kunya Primary school in Kisumu East.

Following the event, Members of the Asian Community in Kisumu have donated items to the victims of the recent demolition in Kibos.

The donated items like mattresses, blankets, bed sheets, food items among other.

Kisumu East Member of Parliament Shakeel Shabir and other leaders also donated tents and some itms for the victims.

ENDS