Several Pangani Estate tenants were forced to spend their Monday night in the cold after the county’s bulldozers demolished their houses.
The incident happened at around 11.30 pm when the residents were fast asleep.
“The City Hall guys are here and they are demolishing the houses while we are still in with our children. It is scary as they are breaking windows, doors and everything,” a resident lamented to the Nation.
The bulldozers arrived in the dead of the night reportedly breaking up windows and doors. This forced the residents to scamper for safety as the operation, that caught them unawares, continued for the better part of the night.
Pangani Estate is among seven Nairobi estates that are listed for redevelopment. The others are Ngong Road Phases I and II, Uhuru Estate, New Ngara, Old Ngara, Suna Road, and Jeevanjee.
Groundbreaking for the planned upgrade at the estate had been scheduled for August 2018 but constant tussles between the county government and the residents has slowed down the process.
In May, Nairobi County paid out Ksh28.8 million to 48 house owners at the estate, paving the way for construction of 1,500 affordable housing units in the next two years.
Governor Mike Sonko personally handed over cheques worth Ksh 600,000 to each of the homeowners to facilitate their relocation.
Sonko affirmed that 80 percent of the tenants supported the redevelopment which was to begin in June after they held a consultative meeting at that time.
