Hundreds left in limbo as Senate probes laini Saba resettlement failures

Residents and traders displaced by Kenya Railways projects in Laini Saba, Kibra Constituency, have asked the Senate to intervene over stalled resettlement programmes, incomplete houses and inadequate trading facilities, saying hundreds of affected families remain in limbo years after the projects displaced them.

The petitioners, led by Victor Wamae and Woodley/Kenyatta Golf Course MCA Davidson DNG Ngibuini, appeared before the Senate Standing Committee on Roads, Transportation and Housing, where they raised concerns over the implementation of the Resettlement Action Plan (RAP).

They told the Committee that although some beneficiaries had received houses and business stalls, many of the facilities remained incomplete or lacked basic services such as water, sewerage, lighting, fencing and functional sanitation.

“You know to use the washroom. They can’t use the toilets because there is no sewer connection. There is no water, and that’s why some people have now even invaded those toilets and they are using the toilets as houses, as unbelievable as it sounds,” said Mr Ngibuini.

The figures presented to the Committee highlighted the scale of the problem. Of the 1,432 residential occupants enumerated in the Laini Saba zone, only 256 had received houses. On the commercial side, 583 of the 833 enumerated business occupants had received stalls.

The petitioners said those left out continued to live in temporary or decanting sites, while others were operating businesses in unsafe and unsuitable locations.

Wamae said some of the houses already handed over to beneficiaries could not be considered complete because essential services had not been provided.

“What happened in the past is that Resettlement Action Plan, as you can see in the document, and Chair, the Kenya Railways houses were built, and the Kenya Railways houses were handed over to the affected persons. But there’s a serious issue where, if you look at those houses as they are today, the houses are incomplete,” he said.

“One, there’s no water connection in those houses,” he added.

The petitioners also raised concerns over the stalled Phase Two construction at Jamhuri, behind the Nairobi City County Inspectorate Trading Centre. They said the project had reportedly run out of funding, leaving traders who had won ballots for houses without their units.

Some of the affected traders, they said, remained at a decanting site in Magade as they waited for the resettlement programme to be completed.

Marsabit Senator Mohamed Chute, who chaired the session, pressed the petitioners to provide accurate and consistent figures on the number of people affected.

Chute warned against contradictory figures, saying reliable information was necessary for the Committee to establish the scale of the problem and determine the appropriate intervention.

Nominated Senator Peris Tobiko raised a separate concern over the immediate safety of families still living in temporary conditions, particularly amid forecasts of heavy rainfall.

“Where are you living right now? Considering, of course, the predictions of the meteorological people that there’s going to be rain and a lot of rain. Where are you living? Are you in safe places?” she asked.

Tobiko said the safety of affected families should remain a priority as the Senate considers measures to address the resettlement crisis. She also sought clarification on whether beneficiaries were expected to pay for the houses or whether they were being provided as part of the resettlement programme.

Nominated Senator Hamida Kibwana focused on the legal status of the occupation of the railway land, urging the petitioners to provide documentary evidence supporting their claims.

“The bottom line is the Kenya Railways wanted to get back their land, full stop,” she said, while emphasising the need to separate the legal questions surrounding occupation from the humanitarian concerns facing displaced families.

Kibwana asked the petitioners to submit allotment letters, titles, evidence of rent payments and other documentation relating to their occupation of the land.

She also sought a list of ballot holders to establish who had been allocated houses and who had been left out.

“But then when you get to the nitty gritty of the documentation and don’t have any documentation, now, whom are you paying rent to? Because Nairobi, there are no free things, you know,” Senator Kibwana said.

She questioned whether traders had been paying rent to the City Council or another authority and called for records that could establish the legitimacy and status of the affected occupants.

The petitioners asked the Committee to facilitate access to RAP documents, including enumeration records and details of financial allocations. They also called for investigations into alleged procurement and contractor irregularities, completion and upgrading of market stalls, compensation for livelihood disruptions and clarification of the legal status of the affected land.

They said some stalls constructed under the resettlement programme were too small and poorly located, forcing traders to conduct business close to railway tracks and roads.

The petitioners proposed that portions of the railway reserve be considered for organised trading activities during railway rehabilitation, subject to proper planning and legal safeguards.

They further raised concerns over flooding, poor drainage and the absence of ramps for persons with disabilities.

The residents also opposed plans to remove a police post serving Woodley and Isabel wards, saying the facility was critical to the security of the surrounding community.

The Committee directed the petitioners to submit a comprehensive list of beneficiaries who had received or missed out on houses and stalls. They were also directed to provide copies of lease agreements and other relevant records.