Police in Nakuru were forced to use teargas to disperse locals form looting property of Kenya Railways after county government of Nakuru made demolitions on the stretch parcel of land adjacent to the Pinkham Roundabout to pave way for the construction of a modern Bus park to decongest Nakuru Town.
Youths from Nakuru town majority of whom are street children had taken advantage of the demolitions to loot railways property among them iron sheets and other steel materials.
They engaged the county askaris in cat and mouse game for more than 5 hours before police officers from Central Police station in Nakuru stepped in with teargas to restrain the locals from looting.
This even as the occupier of the stretch land (Mombasa Millers) who was using it as a parking yard is now counting losses after more than 10 transport trucks were destroyed and fuel siphoned during the demolition that was carried out by the county government.
The occupier of the space is not the only person who is counting loss following the demolition, those dealing with flowers and tree seedlings and had erected their seedbeds besides the land stretch are also lamenting over the move.
They say that was their livelihood and the county government could have consulted them to allow them to transfer their flowers as well as the tree seedlings.
Ms Lucy Wangari who had tree seedlings and flowers destroyed says the county government did not even issue them with a notice.
“We were not given any notice but we just woke up to find the demolitions and our seedbeds destroyed are now hopeless,” she said.
Similar sentiments echoed by Charles Ndegwa who runs a flower and tree nursery adjacent to the land stretch where demolitions took place.
According to him, the county government of Nakuru acted in an inhumane manner by not thinking about the common citizens like him who depends on the nursery for livelihood.
He says if the county government of Nakuru had issued notice they would have planned to vacate the place without experiencing the destruction and loss.
“If they would have given us a notice at least we would have not experienced this loss,” said Ndegwa.
However, the county government of Nakuru through a statement maintained that occupier of the space was informed about the move and allocated a different land to relocate to.
Nakuru Governor Lee Kinyanjui through the statement maintains the Mombasa Millers had ignored several notices to vacate the land and any move by the county to gain access to the land were thwarted by hired goons.
He adds that the move to demolish the area was taken by the county government to avert the selfish interests of an individual to stop construction of a public utility to ease congestion in town.
“The county government of Nakuru took the firm action as it could not allow selfish interests of an individual to stop construction of a public utility that will not only ease congestion in the town but also create employment,” said Kinyanjui.
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