Nearly 10,000 households on riparian corridors receive Sh10,000 stipend » Capital News

NAIROBI, Kenya, May 25 — Some 9,774 households residing along riparian corridors in Nairobi have received a Sh10,000 stipend as the government sustains efforts to reclaim riparian land along the Nairobi River basin.

Interior Principal Secretary Raymond Omollo stated that an additional 40,000 households were undergoing verification.

”Overseen by a multi-agency team led by the Ministry of Interior, the operation targets structures along the waterways in Mathare, Nairobi, and Ngong rivers,” Omollo reported on Saturday.

“The operation aims to finish within a week, focusing on preventing re-occupation and clearing debris,” he elaborated.

The operation launched following a Cabinet resolution on May 2 has seen the demolition of structures constructed within 30 metres of the riverline.

The government ordered the demolition in response to flooding that claimed several lives in Nairobi with the national toll surpassing 200.

As of May 10, Interior Cabinet Secretary Kithure Kindiki revealed that over 180,000 people had voluntarily moved from the riparian lands following the government directive.

He asserted that the government would move to forcefully evict individuals who still lived within the mapped riparian corridors.

“The government has ordered all those people who have constructed houses, businesses, and those who are farming in riparian corridors to vacate and if they don’t, we will remove them by force,” he said.

Interior PS revealed that the government was clearing and fencing off the already reclaimed lands pending unclogging and rehabilitation.

The exercise is led by a multi-agency team including the National Disaster Operation Centre (NDOC), the Nairobi regional security, and Nairobi City County.

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