Raila Odinga, the head of the Azimio party, has decried the demolition of houses in Kakamega to make space for the Affordable Housing Programme.
Raila, who visited the area on Friday with local leaders, stated that the demolitions are illegal and that the national government is carrying out the practice at night.
“Even during the worst days of the Nyayo dictatorship, we never witnessed anything like this,” stated the Azimio leader.
Raila questioned why the national government continued with the practice after the High Court pronounced the Housing Levy unconstitutional.
“Why do you say you want to build affordable houses, then demolish those that are already there to make way for the program?” “What kind of job is this?” he inquired.
“You cannot force people to stay in the houses you have built.”
The land in dispute, according to former Kakamega governor Wycliffe Oparanya, does not belong to the national government.
He stated that the territory was under the jurisdiction of the county council until 1988, when Kakamega became a municipality.
“The land is owned by the municipality of Kakamega.” We have no idea why they have come to demolish the houses. “It’s a bad thing,” he remarked.
The demolitions have impacted billionaire Jaswant Singh Rai, head of the West Kenya Sugar Company.
During his most recent visit to the area in September, President William Ruto commissioned the affordable housing project for Kakamega at Milimani estate.
Irungu Macharia, the Western Regional Commissioner, has now defended the demolitions.
He stated that the action is part of the government’s commitment to returning public land to its proper use, clearing the way for critical development projects.
“We did everything we could to recover that land in Milimani Bloc B from the people who took it.” On September 1, the exercise began. “We’ve been doing demolitions every day, and we’re almost done,” Macharia said.
The Kakamega County government, on the other hand, is considering taking the state to court over the exercise.
Governor Fernandes Barasa has stated that his administration will seek compensation in the millions of shillings.
The national government, according to Barasa, did not confer with his administration about the demolitions.