The County Assembly of Machakos on Tuesday unanimously passed a motion to pursue justice for the victims of demolitions at the East African Portland Cement in Mavoko constituency.
The motion called for the county government to be enjoined in the appeal case against the East African Portland Cement Company calling for the compensation for the victims of the demolitions.
In addition, the case will also address the issue of administration of land in Syokimau and Mlolongo Ward be done in Machakos rather than in Nairobi and clear defining of boundaries between Machakos and Nairobi counties to avoid further administration clashes.
Syokimau/Mlolongo Ward Representative Daniel Ndwiki while moving the motion noted that the victims had not been given notice to vacate hence the demolition act was inhuman.
He called for the victims to be compensated.
His Kinanie Ward counterpart Francis Kavyu who also spoke about the matter said justice must be done because the rights of the people to own property had been violated.
He called for the suspension of any land searches from the registry in Nairobi until the same was moved to Machakos.
Kavyu noted that one of the intended beneficiaries of the said land according to President William Ruto’s remarks before the demolitions was the Export Processing Zone authority (EPZ) which had over 1000 acres of unutilized land. He read malice and mischief in the demolitions.
The MCA demanded a disclosure of the full list of intended beneficiaries.
He further proposed that the county government should not approve any development plans on the said land until the victims of demolitions were compensated or allocated an alternative place to settle.
Kavyu also wanted the status of the EAPCC payment of land rates to the county government of Machakos and compensation for extracting minerals from the land made public.
“If EAPCC records are not up to date in payment of land rates, we as a county government can undertake repossession of the land,” said Kavyu.
Machakos Governor Wavinya Ndeti has supported the motion saying the County government will do everything to ensure justice for the people of Machakos and the safeguarding of their basic human rights.
