Land-grabbing impunity

In early January, protests ensued over a school’s playground in Nairobi being ‘grabbed’, illegally fenced off and seized.  The case of Langata Road Primary School is a classic land-grabbing one, a clear indication of government impunity, and indeed, it’s said to be the project of Deputy President William Ruto.(lifted from New Internationalist Blog). see video

With the school located in a zone controlled by the government’s opposition forces, the information spread like a burning bush-fire, attracting public attention. A demonstration to oppose the move was set up.

Civil society organizations, parents and a group of children’s rights activists led a protest demanding the land be given back to the school. Pupils of the same school joined in the protest and tore down the perimeter wall, to express their anger towards the government. Police at the scene tear-gassed the demonstrators, including the pupils. More violence ensued, leaving at least five pupils seriously injured; a police officer was also injured in the mix and several activists arrested for participating in the demonstration. As a way of dispersing protesters (among them, mostly school children), the police used tear gas against them.

The public condemned tear-gassing school children who were rightfully demanding their land back. The officer commanding the police division who ordered the use of tear gas against children was suspended by Cabinet Secretary for the Interior, Joseph Nkaissery. This is just but one instance of the wide-spread land-grab impunity in Kenyan society today.