An elderly man created a spectacle in the Nairobi CBD Tuesday after chaining himself to the Dedan Kimathi statue to protest land injustice.
82-year-old Kimani Kariuki, who claimed to have fought against British colonialists alongside Dedan Kimathi, said he chained himself to the monument of the freedom fighter to grab the attention of the government regarding land compensation.
Kariuki said he lost his land to the govt in 2013 for a road to be constructed but he was yet to be compensated.
“I am stuck here but I was with Dedan Kimathi while fighting for freedom. I had land but it was taken for a road to be constructed on it and they have refused to refund me.
“They had been ordered by the County Commissioner to come and do a valuation test which was done. I suffered under the colonizers and now under the African government. The lands officials have refused to pay me,” he said.
At some point, the former freedom wept while speaking to Nation reporters about his plight.
“Now I am suffering. They have taken away everything. I had taken a vow in 1952 to fight the colonialists over land. I am weak and I cannot hear properly because there is a bomb that detonated near me in 1953,” he cried.
Kariuki explained that he was not opposed to the construction of the road but only wants his Sh4.7 million compensation settled.
