Residents of Jogoo Road Phase 2 Estate have taken legal action to halt the government’s plan to evict them from their homes for the affordable housing project.
On February 27, the Ministry of Land, Public Works, Housing, and Urban Development issued notices to over 300 residents, instructing them to vacate and hand over their houses to the Director of Estate Management by April 30.
Charles Hinga, the Housing PS, explained that the estates, namely Jogoo Road Phase 1 and 2, Jamaa, Mbotela, Ahero, and Mawenzi Gardens, have been earmarked for the Affordable Housing Program.
The estate consists of 365 housing units, constructed by the government to offer decent and affordable housing to civil servants employed in various national government ministries.
In their legal documents, Kennedy Ochuodho and 10 co-plaintiffs are requesting a temporary order to prevent the CS and PS from demolishing, evicting, relocating, or otherwise disrupting their peaceful and undisturbed occupation of the houses in the Jogoo Road Phase 2 government estate.
They are representing both themselves and the other 335 residents, asserting residency for over 30 years. They contend that the eviction notices received on February 29 came as a sudden and unexpected shock.
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“We have been made to believe that Jogoo Road Phase 2 government Estate was not one of the properties earmarked under the affordable housing government agenda,” they claimed.
The residents further contend that the 60-day notice period to vacate the estate is unreasonably brief, particularly considering the numerous years they and their families have resided in the area. They note that current residents comprise cleaners, government drivers, and clerks, whose housing allowances vary from as low as Kes.4000 to Kes.6500 per month.
High Court Judge Chacha Mwita instructed the residents to serve the CS and PS of the Ministry of Housing with their lawsuit documents. Further directions will be issued on March 12, during which the parties are expected to present arguments to the court regarding its jurisdiction to hear the case.
