President William Ruto halts Mukuru Kwa Njenga demolitions following resident protests

President William Ruto has intervened to halt the forced eviction of residents in the Mukuru Kwa Njenga informal settlement following a morning of chaos and running battles between locals and police. The operation, which began at dawn on Tuesday, was reportedly intended to clear the way for the construction and expansion of Catherine Ndereba Road.

Tension escalated early in the day as bulldozers moved into the area to flatten business premises and houses. Residents, claiming they were given as little as three days' notice to vacate, responded by barricading roads and engaging a heavy contingent of police. Security forces used teargas to disperse the crowds, who argued that the demolitions ignored existing court orders intended to protect the community from displacement.

Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja visited the site to condemn the exercise, describing it as an unlawful operation conducted without the coordination of the county government. Sakaja maintained that the county’s planning committee had not approved the feeder road expansion and that no resettlement plan was in place for the thousands of affected individuals.

Following the public outcry and the Governor’s intervention, the President directed all agencies involved to cease operations immediately. The executive order emphasizes that any future infrastructure developments in the settlement must involve proper public engagement and follow established legal procedures regarding compensation and resettlement.