Makongeni eviction protests jam Jogoo Road as furious youths from the Nairobi estate barricade the vital artery, venting rage over forced relocations tied to the government’s affordable housing drive.
What started as a morning rally against what demonstrators brand a “sham” public participation session has spiralled into gridlock, with rowdy Gen Z contingents hurling stones and chants at police lines.
By midday Monday, the standoff had snared hundreds of vehicles, amplifying cries that local leaders and national planners are prioritising developers over displaced families in this Eastlands enclave.
The flashpoint unfolded around 9 a.m. near the Makongeni slums off Jogoo Road, where bulldozers idled under county oversight, poised to raze shanties for a promised 5,000-unit low-cost complex.
Residents, many single mothers and day labourers scraping by on under Sh20,000 monthly, mobilised swiftly via WhatsApp groups and TikTok lives, decrying the process as rigged.
“This public participation was a hoax; they called it at dawn and chased us with tear gas before we could speak,” bellowed organiser Fatma Ali, a 28-year-old vendor whose kiosk faces demolition.
Her words echoed through the crowd, where placards reading “No Eviction Without Compensation” bobbed amid the haze of anti-riot canisters. Eyewitnesses reported scuffles spilling onto the highway, with protesters toppling vendor carts and erecting bonfires from scrap tyres to halt traffic bound for the CBD.
Traffic snarl-ups rippled citywide, snarling commutes from Donholm to the Industrial Area and beyond. Motorists honked in futile fury, some abandoning vehicles to trek through side alleys, while matatus rerouted via Outer Ring Road, jacking fares by 50 per cent.
The Kenya National Highways Authority issued alerts via SMS, urging detours along Landhies Road, but gridlock persisted into early afternoon.
One stranded driver, a Buruburu accountant named Juma Otieno, shared his plight: X: “Stuck for two hours because leaders want our votes but not our homes.
By 2 p.m., anti-riot units had cleared a lane, but tensions simmered, with youths vowing to regroup at dusk if demands for fair hearings go unmet.
At the heart of the fury lies the Affordable Housing Programme, President Ruto’s flagship since 2023, aiming to build 250,000 units yearly amid a 2.5 million shortfall.
Makongeni, a warren of iron-sheet homes housing 15,000 souls, was earmarked in July for Phase Two, with pledges of alternative plots in Kayole and Sh50,000 relocation grants.
Sceptics point to botched rollouts elsewhere, like the 2024 Kariobangi fiasco, where 300 families waited months for keys, only to find units without water or power. “They call it participation, but it’s dictation; our leaders sold us out for tenders,” fumed Gen Z activist Kelvin Mwangi.
