Thousands of residents from Woodley Estate have moved to court to challenge an eviction notice issued by the Nairobi County Government, arguing that the planned demolition of their homes is illegal. The residents, through their lawyer Danstan Omari, are seeking an injunction to stop the county from proceeding with the evictions and demolitions.
Omari stated that the residents believe the county government is attempting to seize their properties, which they claim to have legally purchased from the now-defunct Nairobi City Council. The looming demolition, expected to begin within a month, threatens to displace over 3,000 residents, along with their homes and investments within the estate.
According to the court documents, the residents allege that powerful individuals are behind the eviction plans, aiming to take over the houses for themselves and their associates. The residents further argue that no environmental impact assessment has been conducted or presented to them, raising concerns about the legality and transparency of the process.
The residents, some of whom have lived in Woodley Estate for more than 50 years, assert that the estate holds significant historical and cultural value, and should be protected. “The estate has been home to our families, where we have established shops, hospitals, schools, churches, and other social amenities for the benefit of the community and the general public,” reads a section of the court filing.
They also claim that the sale of the houses was tainted by corruption, with non-residents being allowed to purchase the properties at the expense of existing tenants. As a result, the residents took legal action to halt the sale when they were continuously harassed by individuals presenting letters as proof of purchase.
In their petition, the residents argue that similar sales of City Council houses occurred in other areas like Makadara and Dagoretti, where tenants were given the opportunity to buy the properties. They had expected the same arrangement to apply in Woodley Estate but now feel sidelined by the county government.
The residents also accuse the county of failing to include them in any public participation process before announcing the eviction plans. “The respondents, without any form of public participation, intend to suddenly evict the petitioners’ families from Woodley Estate and proceed with the Affordable Housing Project (AHF), otherwise known as urban renewal,” the court papers state.
In 2021, the Nairobi Metropolitan Services (NMS) had communicated to the Woodley Residents’ Association that it intended to initiate projects on vacant sites within the estate before considering areas under occupation. The initial arrangement was that current tenants would be given priority, and there was a mutual agreement on conducting public participation.
However, the residents claim that the county has abandoned this approach and is now pursuing a more aggressive strategy to evict them. “We were willing to resolve the matter amicably, but the county government has since refused to follow the same route and now seeks to hurriedly and forcefully evict us from our homes,” the residents lament.
The court is expected to hear the case and decide whether to halt the eviction process pending further legal proceedings.
