NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) – Winnie Makinda, 35, says the Kenyan government's response is causing her to face the worst crisis and worst moments of her life. Flood caused devastating damage Her impoverished community in the capital, Nairobi.
Floods and landslides swept away people and submerged homes. killed at least 267 people According to government statistics, more than 380,000 people have been affected. Floods are caused by unusually heavy rainfall during Kenya's rainy season, which begins in March and sometimes lasts until June.
Those hardest hit are those living near rivers, such as the Matale River that runs through Nairobi.
To save future lives, government last week evacuation and demolition ordered Removal of illegally constructed structures and buildings within 30 meters of the riverbank. Officials said at least 181,000 people had been moved since last week and steps had been taken to provide them with temporary shelter, food and other essentials.
But those affected say the demolition is being carried out in a chaotic and inhumane manner, and that it will only lead to more suffering. At least three people have been killed in the past week when bulldozers destroyed structures on top of buildings, according to human rights groups, families of the dead and residents who spoke to The Associated Press.
Those killed included 17-year-old Ian Otieno, from Makinda, who was inside to protect his property when an excavator smashed through the walls of the Pentecostal African Evangelical Alliance Church. and was crushed to death.
“The excavator driver refused to listen to the women's complaints that there were children inside the church,” Makinda said, sobbing.
Otieno was the only one of eight children enrolled in school and carried the family's hope for a better future. Makinda, a single parent of four sons and four daughters, faces forced eviction this week from his $15-a-month tin shack in Kenya's densely populated Matere slum.
One of her children has sickle cell anemia, which leaves her often bedridden and requires expensive treatment. Also, her youngest son suffered burns from splashing boiling water around her torso and requires frequent medical attention.
Overwhelmed by his situation, Makinda tried to jump into the raging waters of the Matale River to “de-stress”. Luckily for her, her neighbors stopped her on Wednesday and calmed her down by giving her “changaa,'' a local moonshine popular in rural and low-income areas of the capital. .
Makinda earns $2 a day washing other people's clothes, but she can barely afford to feed her children one decent meal a day, let alone pay her hospital bills. And now she must raise funds for her son's burial, an expensive task for most people in western Kenya, and move to a new home.
“My son's body is lying unpreserved in the morgue because I haven't paid for it. I can't even pay for transportation to the morgue,” she said.
Like hundreds of poor Kenyans whose homes have been demolished, Makinda feels betrayed and abandoned by the government. Some say they were evicted without the legally recommended three-month notice period given before action is taken.
They also say they have not received the $75 aid promised by President William Ruto to help them find alternative accommodation.
Millicent Otondo, 48, a mother of three, lost both her home and her 20-year-old business in this week's demolition.
Mr. Otondo, the caretaker of the five-storey building that was demolished, narrated how engineers had marked the building containing his shop and home for demolition and people broke into the building and stole all the inventory. Ta.
“It's really frustrating because the police stood by and watched people loot my belongings,” Otondo said from a local elementary school where he was temporarily taken into custody.
Otondo said she has yet to receive the $75, and even if she did, it wouldn't cover her rent and was a drop in the bucket compared to the $6,000 lost to the looted property. She also wondered why the building was demolished even though it turned out it was not within 30 meters of the riverbank.
The government has defended itself against opposition accusations that it was unprepared for the impact of the floods despite early warnings.
“Given the scale of the extreme weather we are facing, I don't think anyone is prepared for the extreme weather that we are witnessing,” Environment Minister Soipan Tuya told a local broadcaster. He said this in an interview with Citizen TV. “Some parts of this country have never had a flood.”
Experts said the devastating rains were the result of a combination of factors, including the country's seasonal weather patterns, human-induced climate change, and natural weather phenomena.
However, officials point out that the government received an early warning of flooding from the Japan Meteorological Agency in October.
“This is hypocrisy and insensitivity of the highest order,” said human rights activist Boniface Mwangi. “The government knew the floods were coming and even set aside 10 billion ($76 million) in funds to prepare a nationwide response. What happened to those funds?”
He also said the government abdicated its responsibility by allowing housing to be built on land near rivers and wetlands.
“Humans die because of greed. Corrupt public officials approved and issued title deeds for riverside land,” he said.
And amid the death and destruction caused by floods, he said, the government is demolishing homes in the name of bringing development through the government's affordable housing program.
“Tearing down people’s homes in the name of providing affordable housing shows that our government is tone-deaf. People living in shacks cannot afford multi-million dollar homes. Their lifetime wages cannot buy the housing that the government is building,” Mwangi said.
But the most inhumane thing he says is bulldozing people's homes during the rainy season.
“Why do we need to kick someone out of the house during this season?” Mwangi asked. “The poor have been violated by the weather and brutalized by the government.”