LDP Secretary General Denis Kodhe. PHOTO:POOL
The Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) has issued a strongly worded condemnation of the government’s ongoing eviction of Makongeni residents, criticizing President William Ruto’s administration for what it describes as a heartless and contradictory approach to the Affordable Housing Programme.
In a statement released today, LDP Secretary General Dr. Denise Kodhe said it was unacceptable for the government to claim to be building homes for citizens while at the same time making thousands of others homeless through forced evictions.
Dr. Kodhe argued that the primary responsibility of any government is to protect its people and safeguard their welfare.
He faulted the state for failing to provide alternative settlement options or even basic humanitarian support to families being removed from Makongeni, many of whom are elderly, retired, or disabled.
According to LDP, the government’s actions demonstrate a lack of concern for human dignity and an alarming disregard for the social contract it holds with citizens.
The evictions at Makongeni have raised public outrage, with residents recounting how bulldozers rolled into the estate with little warning, flattening homes that have housed generations.
Makongeni, one of Nairobi’s oldest settlements, has long been occupied by retirees and former employees of the Kenya Railways Corporation (KRC), who were permitted to remain there as part of their compensation and retirement arrangements after major restructuring at the corporation decades ago.
Many of these individuals have lived in the area for more than 40 years, raising families and building communities rooted in the estate’s history.
Despite this, residents say they were handed abrupt eviction notices—some receiving as little as two days’ warning—before demolitions began.
Families have been left stranded, their belongings scattered and their lives upended. Human rights organisations and local leaders have decried the move as cruel and unnecessary, noting that those affected include some of the country’s most vulnerable citizens.
LDP criticised Kenya Railways for abandoning the very people who once served the corporation, noting that the institution has remained silent even as its former workers face displacement.
Dr. Kodhe said it was unconscionable for a state corporation to distance itself at a time when its retirees are suffering, especially given its historical role in the residents’ settlement in Makongeni.
Drawing comparisons to international best practices, LDP urged Kenya to emulate Rwanda, which compensated residents fully and provided alternative land before implementing major redevelopment projects in Kigali.
Dr. Kodhe said this demonstrated that development and human dignity need not be mutually exclusive and that Kenya could have chosen a more humane and organized relocation process.
The party expressed deep worry that Kenyans were being made homeless by the same government tasked with protecting them.
Dr. Kodhe insisted that the evictions must be condemned by all citizens of goodwill, saying silence would only embolden the state to continue displacing vulnerable communities in the name of development. He appealed to Kenyans to stand in solidarity with the victims and press the government to halt the evictions immediately.
“The government cannot pretend to build homes while at the same time destroying homes,” the statement reads.
LDP maintained that the Affordable Housing Programme must not be used as an excuse to trample on the rights of citizens, displace long-standing communities, or undermine social justice.
The party called for fair compensation, proper resettlement plans, and full adherence to human rights obligations before any further action is taken.
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