The Lower Eastern Times Opening The Third Eye
Related Articles
The renowned Mama Uhuru house, situated along Kangundo Road at the Kangundo Road market, has been brought down in a dawn demolition. The two-story building, with 136 single-room units, was owned by the family of Kenya’s freedom fighter, Mwanaisha Bilali, affectionately known as Mama Uhuru until her passing on September 9, 2009.
According to the grandchildren, the property was demolished at 2:00 am on Wednesday by individuals claiming to represent the county government. The county officials reportedly arrived with bulldozers, providing no eviction notice but instructing them to evacuate their children from the premises before the demolition.
Mwanaisha Chebet Bilali, one of the grandchildren, alleged that county government personnel assaulted them during the forceful evictions. She shared her distress, stating, “I have a child who is joining Form One. I told them to allow me to take his calling letter from the house, but they refused. They instead assaulted me and my husband.”
The family claimed that the land on which the structure stood was allocated to them during former President Mwai Kibaki’s tenure in 2002. They constructed the house in 2005, following proper procedures.
Chebet revealed that their grandmother, Mama Uhuru, had 102 great-grandchildren, some of whom lived in the now-demolished structure. She expressed confusion over the nighttime evictions, emphasizing that they managed to salvage only a few belongings from the debris.
“We have had challenges here. The parcel of land was given to our grandmother by retired President Uhuru Kenyatta as a reward for her involvement in freedom fighting,” Chebet explained.
The family mentioned their prior eviction from Pumwani flats, emphasizing that they had proper ownership documents and had been paying land rates to the Nairobi City County administration.
Mariamu Bilali, another family member, lamented being left stranded with no place to go after being rendered homeless. She disclosed taking a Sh2 million bank loan to extend and renovate the now-demolished structure, which she was still servicing.
“We work with the same people who have demolished our property. They were over 100 people, including county government staffers,” Bilali stated. Despite attempts to contact county officials before and during the demolitions, she claimed that her pleas went unanswered. The family asserted that the police denied involvement in the eviction, and none of those responsible showed any court orders for the demolitions.
