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Campaign against forced evictions Ecological Justice Network People's Assemblies Solidarity

Flood Solidarity – Asante!

Wakenya and many friends from all over: the floods may have come in a flash but the work of rebuilding takes time and your ongoing solidarity to Mathare residents is greatly appreciated.

Our work now shifts from crisis response towards helping families re-establish homes and lives. This is made much harder as the government enacted demolitions along and beyond Mathare’s riparian area, rendering thousands of households homeless, without any compensation provided to those affected.

All of the donations you have sent in response to this crisis are for the recovery of our people. To date our Mathare Social Justice Centre paybill has received 2,122,107 KES for Mathare flood victims. We have also received tons of food, clothing, bedding, mattresses, diapers, sanitary towels, cooking equipment and much more.

Our last statement, on May 2, 2024, accounted for 1,758,025 KES from our collective Network of Mathare Justice Centres and 313,170 KES from the phone of a MSJC secretariat member. Since then we have continued to run community kitchens in three locations. These kitchens have been running since April 25th, and at their peak could feed up to 1500 people a day.

With the funds and food donations we still have, we will be continuing the community kitchens, and providing cash transfers to 150 households. We will continue to honour and be accountable to all of those who stood with us and sent whatever they could to support these response efforts. You have really emphasised to us that Ubuntu exists: indeed, we are because you are.

In terms of long-term action, we intend to partner on a public interest litigation case on behalf of the residents of Mathare who suffered doubly from the floods and forced evictions. 

We would also like to thank over one hundred individuals and organisations that supported us: we have tried our best to list all of them below, and we apologise for any names we have missed in error.

Thank you for struggling with us, and choosing to defend humanity. We are because you are.

Below and in this letter is a recognition of our supporters:

Mathare Social Justice Centre

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Campaign against forced evictions

Campaigner against forced evictions detained and harassed at Buruburu police station

Edwin Kimani, who together with other community members’ campaigns against forced evictions and land grabbing in Mathare, was detained by the police for no reason on January 12 2019 at around 9 pm. He was arrested at Kariobangi roundabout and taken to Buruburu police station. While he was arrested arbitrarily, he was beaten by the police.

At Buruburu police station he was charged with resisting arrest. The following morning, on January 13th, his brother James Gitau and a few members of MSJC were able to go to the OCPD at Buruburu police station, and were given an appointment to meet him on 15th January 2019. At the same time they were forced to pay a cash bond of Ksh 10,000, to secure the release of their brother, and were told to go to court on the 17th of January since they refused to pay a bribe.

They went to court on the 17th of January but they found that Edwin’s file was missing from those that were meant to be attended to that day — the police had not taken the file to court. They they went back to Buruburu police station and were told to go to court on the 24th. It was also on this day, after treating his injuries a few days earlier, that Edwin was finally given a P3 form.

When they went back to court on the 24th, the file still was not there. They then went back to Buruburu police station and were given back the cash bail, but they insisted on taking a statement so that they could proceed with a case of assault against the police officer who wrongfully detained Edwin. They were told that the police officer would also come and record a statement.

They are still waiting.

Currently, Edwin and other members of our campaign against forced evictions also have a court case against a person who is trying to grab community space in Mathare, and evict many people who have homes and small businesses.

We appeal for solidarity for them at this time, for both of this cases.

 

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