Eviction from Nairobi Rivers corridor to continue, says Interior Ministry

In a statement to the media on Monday, Interior CS Kithure Kindiki said the directives were issued in the national interest,  and would not be shelved due to ethnic, political, or parochial interests.

"Prohibition of residence and activities within the Nairobi Rivers riparian reserves and the removal of unlawful structures there from remains an irreversible national security project to create resilience for the City of Nairobi to withstand the shocks of climate change and mitigate the loss of lives, property and livelihoods in the likely event of future torrential rains and the consequential flooding," CS Kindiki said. 

The CS announced that 181,000 people in 40,000 households had vacated the Nairobi Rivers riparian reserves, and the government will continue to remove all structures erected within the 30-metre radius of the Nairobi Rivers Ecosystem.

The families who are facing eviction will receive a Ksh.10,000 stipend from the government to enable them relocate. 

"The Ministry of Interior and National Administration is implementing the Presidential directive to provide a one-off Government support of Ksh.10,000 for each of the 40,000 households affected by the orders to relocate from the Nairobi Rivers riparian corridor," CS Kindiki said on Monday. 

Some 25,000 households have received the pledged Government support of Ksh.10,000 per household, according to the ministry, with the rest expecting to receive the monies via mobile transfer before Friday. 

According to CS Kindiki, no one will be allowed to rebuild structures along the riparian corridor and instead, the vacated areas will shortly be trenched to allow for the establishment of recreational facilities for access by members of the public for free. 

The Interior Ministry said dozens of families perished in the dead of the night, swept by raging flood water as they slept in residential structures illegally constructed for rent within the riparian reserves

The government believes the reclamation will solve the issues of destructive storm water, boost security for communities living around, eliminate the use of river banks for the manufacture, sale and consumption of illicit, toxic and harmful alcoholic drinks, peddling of narcotic drugs, and destroy the hideouts of dangerous criminals who have been using structures erected on inaccessible riparian reserves to plan criminal activities and to retreat there after committing crimes.