This column is more personal than usual. This week’s Commission on Administrative Justice (Ombudsman) ruling in the case of Coldstone Investment Ltd. Vs. Khaleej Towers Ltd. created a buzz in my home and several neighbourhoods negatively impacted by building and planning violations. 

Nearly 400 kilometres apart, the communities of Kibos, Kisumu and Mukuru kwa Njenga, Nairobi had reasons to celebrate this last month. Two separate rulings by the Judiciary remind us that justice may delay, but when it swings in favour of those whose lives have been upended by forced evictions, it is sweet.

As organisations that are deeply engaged with communities residing in Nairobi’s most vulnerable settlements, we express grave concern about the repercussions of the government’s ongoing evictions in informal settlements along the river corridors in Nairobi. These evictions only exacerbate the challenges faced by vulnerable communities already grappling with the severe aftermath of recent torrential rains.

Nairobi, 17 February 2023