This archive report was first published on 10 May 2020.
On May 10, 2020, the residents of Kariobangi woke up to find their homes being demolished, leaving them without a roof over their heads. The demolition was a deliberate project to demolish lives, with the government's intention being to flatten the houses of low-income families to make way for a sewerage project.
The government's rationale for the demolitions was that it was necessary to progress the sewerage project, as the donors were threatening to retract their funding if the project was delayed. However, this rationale was nonsensical, as the donors were likely to understand that the pandemic had caused delays in various projects around the world.
The demolitions were a stark reminder of the government's lack of empathy for the poor, with the timing and method of the demolitions being particularly egregious. The government's intention was to flatten the houses of low-income families, leaving them without a roof over their heads, and exposing them to destitution.
As the writer of this article noted, the demolitions were a deliberate project to demolish lives, and not a set-up. The government's intention was to create a public opinion that they were an elitist government that had no idea what poverty looked or smelled like.
However, the demolitions created a public opinion that was the opposite of what the government intended. The people of Kariobangi were forced to explain to their children that their house, their only roof, was not a home. They were exposed to destitution on purpose, and they know it.
The demolitions were a classic example of the government's lack of empathy for the poor, and the timing and method of the demolitions were particularly egregious. The government's intention was to create a public opinion that they were an elitist government that had no idea what poverty looked or smelled like.
