This archive report was first published on 10 May 2020.
On May 4, 2020, excavators tore into houses in Kariobangi North, leaving residents without a home. The demolition was part of a larger project to clear the area for a sewerage project, but the timing and method have been widely criticized.
The government has attempted to justify the demolitions, citing the need to progress the sewerage project and avoid delaying it due to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, many have questioned the logic behind the decision, particularly in the midst of a pandemic when the poor are already struggling to make ends meet.
According to Fred Matiang'i, the government's intention was to demolish the houses, and not a setup or a mistake. This has led many to believe that the government is out of touch with the realities of poverty and does not have empathy for the poor.
As the writer, a PhD candidate in political economy, notes, 'the surest way to foment rebellion is for the governed to believe that those who lead them do not have empathy for them.' The Kariobangi demolitions have created a public opinion that the government is elitist and has no idea what poverty looks or smells like.
It is worth noting that the demolitions were not done in spite of COVID-19, but because of it. The government may have reasoned that in the midst of the pandemic, nobody would notice or care about the Kariobangi residents.
As the writer concludes, 'it was a deliberate project to demolish lives by flattening houses.' The Kariobangi demolitions are a stark reminder of the government's priorities and the need for empathy and understanding for the poor.
