Residents Lie on Jogoo Road During Protest

There was a major traffic snarl-up along Jogoo Road for a better part of the morning of Sunday, January 19, as irate residents occupied the busy road in protest.

Images and videos obtained by Kenyans.co.ke show tens of residents, mostly women, lying on the road near the Mbotela Estate, effectively barring cars from using the busy route.

The irate residents lay mattresses in the middle of the road and occupied them to show their discontent as other area residents surrounded them, presumably as a show of support.

Police, who showed up at the scene on Sunday morning, could only watch since the protests, despite traffic disruption, were largely peaceful.

Vehicles plying the busy Jogoo Road were forced to seek alternative routes, with some resorting to the neighbouring estates to avoid the protests.

It has since been established that the protests stemmed from demolitions that occurred at the Mbotela Estate over a land dispute, with at least 14 plot owners in the area counting heavy losses.

Among the people affected by the demolitions were traders in various sectors including charcoal, clothes, and groceries. 

One trader who was among those who occupied the busy Jogoo Road was heard lamenting, “How many leaders over the years have been in office and have seen us on this land? For how many years have we been on this piece of land? Why are they coming to grab it now?”

The residents insist they have occupied the contentious piece of land since the 1960s, while a private developer, who is believed to be behind the demolitions, claims to have acquired ownership of the land in 1992 from the city council of Nairobi.

“This land was given to us in the 1960s. But because we don’t have the power, they’re forcefully taking it from us,” another elderly trader lamented.

The traders further faulted the developer for allegedly flouting a court order that required the developer to appear in court on January 30. 

Meanwhile, the private developer argues that the occupants whose structures were destroyed acquired an allotment illegally and that his team had proper legal documents to prove ownership.