Panic in Kibera as houses demolished, hundreds homeless

Hundreds of families in Nairobi’s Kibera estate were left homeless on Wednesday morning after police evicted residents who had settled near the railway line.

The residents were woken up by the smell of tear gas which had marred the atmosphere and the heavy presence of police officers ready to evict them.

They were forced to take immediate action, some of whom prompted to save only their most treasured property as the bulldozers flatted their dwellings.

Years of belonging at the place had come to an end, heaped on bear lots as they watched their houses go down.

Residents say they had received eviction notice but they lamented that they could have been given more time to move out.

The Kenya Railways Urban Authority maintains that the structures close to the railway line are illegal and the company intends to develop the area.

Those who said were not ready, now were forced to leave in the cold, pondering their next move as Kenya Power company was also in a move to get rid of the power line in the area.

They were told to seek refuge at decamping structures in the area for sometime as preparations to move them to the new constructed houses by the World Bank in 2014 are underway.