JAMILA'S MEMO: In a crisis, you may well be on your own

On my Memo tonight, I am talking about evictions especially those that have been done by the government in the past few days; evictions of Kenyans who are living in places that are said to be dangerous and prone to flooding.

The government gave them 48 hours to move willingly or be forcefully evicted. That is exactly what happened in most places, people were forcefully evicted. For many, the 48 hours given was not enough to find new homes and move their belongings. 

However, the evictions that were meant to save lives took some, with three people including a 9-year-old child losing their lives while others were injured. 

Those who were unable to move watched as their property went under the bulldozers. On riparian settlements, and structures built where they are not supposed to, the government has no moral authority to point a finger. Every house on riparian land whether stone or mabati is a monument of failed government regulations. Yaani, the fault starts with the government.

In the beginning, there was a law; so between the law and the houses or structures, which one came first?

When the government is evicting people it needs to give them apology gifts and say, “I failed you, and I am here to fail you again. First, because you were not supposed to have constructed here and second because, I have no idea where you will go from here. Get out of this riparian land and God will take care of you, Mungu awe nanyi!”

For me, this points to a failure in regulations. The government needs to stop sounding holier than thou when announcing the eviction of those living on riparian land, near rivers or on road reserves! Every announcement of eviction should be preceded by an apology saying, “Fellow Kenyans we failed you, now leave the riparian land, where to, we have no idea.”

Folks, Kenya is full of ironies; because it is only here that a statement like ‘kujipanga’ actually means you are on your own. “Nenda ujipange” means “hapa uko pekee yako”...so the question the government should ask themselves even as they drive bulldozers down the valley to evict people is, “Where have we been as a government?”

There is a lot to humble us when it comes to evictions; because they are a statement of failure in government. 

Just the same way a flooded alley is a statement of a failed drainage system. You don't ask the water, why are you here? The people being asked to move did not fall from the sky to Mathare, Mukuru Kwa Reuben or Kiamaiko. In fact, their richer counterparts continue enjoying lavish lives from the comfort of their riparian estates. With no one ordering them to move or threatening them with eviction, some of those homes were also flooded during this period.

Remember, some of those homes were also flooded during this period.
Some of those evicted may have found their way to the camps that have been set up to accommodate families affected by the floods.

However a humanitarian crisis is looming at these camps. Families are grappling with shortages of vital supplies such as food, medicine, and other essential necessities. Those not at the camps may have found somewhere else to live. But whatever the situation they are facing, these are people whose lives have been uprooted suddenly and without adequate warning. The most the government can do is find them alternative places to live, where they can have some semblance of normalcy in their lives. After all in this instance, the government is not blameless at all.

That is my Memo!