We lost our lives: Mavoko demolition victims languish in poverty two years later
Eastern
By
Peterson Githaiga
| Feb 13, 2026
Francisca Mweni whose house was demolished in Mavoko, walks along Mombasa road in Nairobi to present the victims case to President Willian Ruto at State House. [Peterson Githaiga, Standard]
For two years now, Francisca Mbithe and her family have been fighting for space in a one-room mabati house in Mlolongo after her dream home was flattened.
These have been her longest years, fighting depression and struggling to fed for the family after watching bulldozers crush her lifetime investment, leaving a trail of tears and devastation for hundreds of families.
''I had bought three plots and constructed a house in one of them so that I could stop renting. The more than Sh3.6 million I spent was part of my saving including loan I borrowed from a friend'' she recalls.
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Mbithe's was one of the families who lost their homes on the controversial East Africa Portland land in Mavoko, Athi River, in 2023. More than 200 specious homes, schools, and churches were brought down.
Today, the land remains idle. Only herders graze their animals at the 4,298-acre property.
But for Mbithe and others, the pain is still fresh. And it won't go away anytime soon. The families, whose only crime was to make enough savings and take loans to make a decent living, were reduced to beggars.
''I lost everything, even all the building materials that I had used were all stolen after the demolition. At the moment, I depend on my small business, selling vegetables. I can't even afford to pay school fees'' she says.
"The President (William Ruto) should know that what was done to many of us was not good. People who used to have their money were turned to be beggars.''
The land, which was by then valued at about Sh15 million per acre, was over the years at the centre of a protracted dispute, with many individuals claiming ownership.
During a tour at the Export Processing Zone, President Ruto ordered squatters occupying part of the land to vacate to pave way for expansion of the manufacturing zone.
He also ordered the Lands ministry to revoke title deeds on land in Athi River that had not been developed for over 10 years.
“I have given clear instructions to the management here that all speculators, people who have held titles to pieces of land for 10 to 30 years without developing them be revoked so that we can give it to people who want to use this facility.”
However, no development has taken place on the land.
And now, as years drag on, the demolition victims are still hopeful the government will compensate them and punish those who wrecked their lives.
"The worst of all is that the company that duped us by selling us this land are still out there with us, no one has ever been arrested," says Benjamin Kimani.
The former Ministry of Works staff took a loan of Sh3 million and added his savings to purchase two plots. He later started constructing commercial houses, only for them to be brought down at the early stage.
"Since the day I lost all my properties during the demolitions, my life has never been the same again. I lost all I had and later lost my job."