Nairobi County Assembly moves to resettle Mathare 4A families after 36-year wait
A motion presented by majority leader Peter Imwatok calls for the allocation of a 405-hectare parcel in Embakasi, known as Land Reference Number 11344.
Families evicted from Mathare 4A nearly four decades ago could finally get permanent homes after the Nairobi County Assembly moved to secure land for their resettlement.
A motion presented by majority leader Peter Imwatok calls for the allocation of a 405-hectare parcel in Embakasi, known as Land Reference Number 11344.
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The property, once occupied by the Kenya Defence Forces, was confirmed as county land in a 2023 Supreme Court decision that ended years of contest.
The motion was triggered by a petition filed by the Mathare 4A Resettlement Scheme, which now operates under Eastend Development Properties.
In October 2023, the assembly’s planning and housing committee tabled a report backing the community’s request for part of the land to be set aside for their settlement.
The history of the group’s struggle dates back to 2005, when the defunct City Council of Nairobi and the national government identified land in Ruai for their relocation.
A letter from the then-Town Clerk John Gakuo confirmed the arrangement, and a full council resolution in 2006 approved the allocation.
Allotment letters were issued in 2007, but efforts to occupy the land were thwarted after the Nairobi City Water and Sewerage Company staked a claim, sparking new evictions and years of litigation.
In 2016, the Environment and Land Court issued restraining orders against further evictions, a stance also endorsed by the assembly. Even so, the families continued to be pushed out, forcing them into unstable shelters and deepening their legal expenses.
The turning point came in 2022, when the Supreme Court ruled in Petition No. 5 (E006) that the county government holds legitimate title to the land.
The verdict granted Nairobi authority to manage and distribute the property in the interest of its people.
The latest assembly motion directs that part of the land, LR No. 18170, be allocated to the Mathare 4A Resettlement Scheme and other deserving groups.
It further instructs the county executive, working with the National Land Commission and relevant agencies, to speed up the allocation and issuance of title deeds within 90 days. The land's executive is also required to update the assembly within 21 days.
For the affected families, the development is the most hopeful sign in decades. Many still live in temporary shelters, including 58-year-old Esther Wanjiru, who was just 22 at the time of the 1989 eviction.
From her small plot in Ruai, she said: “This is the closest we’ve ever come to seeing justice. If this goes through, it means we can finally stop waiting.”
The resolution now shifts focus to the county executive, which will have to work closely with national bodies, resolve boundary issues, and ensure a transparent process in identifying beneficiaries.
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