Kalonzo Urges Ruto to Halt East African Portland Demolitions

Wiper Leader Kalonzo Musyoka led a delegation of leaders from the Ukambani region on Saturday, October 14, 2023, to urge President William Ruto to order an immediate halt to the ongoing demolition of disputed land in Machakos County.

The land dispute involves the East African Portland Cement Company (EAPCL) and some residents of Machakos.

Musyoka led several politicians from Wiper in the county to visit the demolition site. Later, he headed to the office of Machakos Governor Wavinya Ndeti in Machakos town.

“We are sending this message: Stop this nonsense. Stop this demolition. It is a crime against humanity. What will happen to the children in the affected settlements if it rains today?” Musyoka wondered, in a stern message directed at President Ruto.

Earlier, several leaders from the region, including Governor Ndeti, MPs Patrick Makau (Mavoko), Stephen Mule (Matungulu), Joyce Kamene (Machakos), and Robert Mbui (Kathiani), strongly condemned the demolition, which continued for a second consecutive day.

The demolition continued under heavy GSU police presence. The leaders narrowly avoided a confrontation with the police when they attempted to address the affected people near the demolition site.

The police used tear gas to disperse the crowd, including the leaders. This disrupted the leaders’ visit to the demolition site.

“No meeting will take place here. Disperse immediately. Police, take control,” the commander ordered, as the police began moving toward the area with the crowd.

The crowd gathered at the site was forced to run to safe areas. Journalists were also instructed by the police to leave the scene.

Later, the police cordoned off the area as the bulldozers began the demolition.

Governor Ndeti said the demolition is a clear injustice being perpetrated by the Kenya Kwanza government against more than 10,000 families who lived in the area.

“I spoke to Deputy President Ruto this morning, and he told me to talk to the Deputy President, but I couldn’t reach him. This is an injustice. It is a day of great distress for the Kamba community,” she said.

She vowed not to allow the disputed land to be grabbed by influential leaders aiming to take it from the locals.

“They can demolish, but they should know that we will not allow this land to be allocated to influential individuals. This land does not belong to the East African Portland Company; it belongs to the Kamba community. We want discussions to take place on the next steps we will take,” she added.

Makau blamed the government for conspiring to evict hundreds of squatters to allocate the same land to a few influential individuals.