Residents of Nairobi's Kibera and Mukurwe slums living along the railway line are crying foul over the recent demolition of several schools by Kenya Railways officers.
The residents, some
of whom claim there has been systematic discrimination in the way the
demolition are being carried out, say they were not given enough time to
relocate the affected schools.
Jared Omusula, the head
teacher of St Juliet Primary School in Kisumu Ndogo area in Kibera,
said he showed up at the school last week and found about 30 police
officers at the school entrance while a group of youth tore down the
classrooms.
“It is very strange that they targeted the
school while the surrounding houses, bars and entertainment clubs remain
intact and operational. One cannot help but suspect foul play in the
way these evictions are being done,” he said.
Nation
visited the school on Thursday where pupils were studying in partially
torn down classrooms whose roofing had been removed – exposing the
children to both scorching sunshine and rain.
The surrounding houses had not been touched and their occupants were going about their normal daily routines.
TEMPORARY CLASSROOMS
Mr Omusula said he has visited Kenya Railways headquarters to discuss the possibility of setting up temporary classrooms for the Standard Eight pupils who are preparing for the national examinations later in the year.
“They said they will be sending a person to
discuss relocation plans with us yesterday (Tuesday), but he has not
showed up. I got a call today telling me that the person will come
today, so we are still waiting,” he told the Nation.
Mary
Oyuke, the corporate affairs manager at Kenya Railways said the school
had been given prior notice to vacate in March, indicating that the
school should relocate by mid-April.
“The notice
clearly gives a deadline of April 15 before the structures are
demolished. This date falls within the April holidays because this was
the best time to demolish the structures, when the pupils were on
holiday,” she said.
She explained that this is the
reason the schools were being demolished before other residential
structures in the area and added that there was no targeting of
particular schools.
“The demolitions were actually to have been done last year,” added Ms Oyuke,
“This
was however contested so the exercise had been on hold, and ruling was
finally made in favour of KR in February. As part of the ruling, school
evictions were to be conducted only during the school holidays, hence
the demolitions carried out a few days ago.”
TRANSFER CHILDREN
A notice document from Kenya Railways dated March 19 (also seen by Nation)
directs parents of students in affected schools to transfer their
children to other schools located away from the railway reserve.
“Parents
can seek guidance from the Resettlement Management Unit on the public
schools with vacancies to accommodate their children,” reads the notice
signed by Kenya Railways managing director Atanas Maina.
St
Juliet Primary School has about 700 pupils and has occupied its current
location for 26 years, says Terah Amugune, who is one of the founders
and a director at the school.
“You cannot just show up
and uproot, or even worse, dissolve a school that has become a social
and cultural landmark and just tell people to pack up and go. There
should be a little more sensitivity in how these relocations are being
done,” he said.
DAILY NATION.
DAILY NATION.