Hundreds of protesters in Kenya blocked one of Nairobi’s major highways with burning tires to protest government demolitions of the homes of more than 7,000 people and the closure of an adjacent food market.
The demolitions continued through the week and displaced thousands of residents, who are sleeping out in the rain and cold because Nairobi has restrictions on movement due to the coronavirus.
The government claims that it owns the land where the demolitions took place and it ignored a court order that barred it from evicting the slum residents until their case arguing for their right to live on the land is determined.
The stay at home and cessation of movement guidelines and economic hardships have made it even more difficult to stay with relatives or leave Nairobi at this time,” the coalition’s letter said.
The coalition said the government has done nothing to alleviate the suffering of those who are now homeless and instead arrested activists who presented a petition to the Nairobi Water and Sewerage Company that is seeking to repossess the land.
