women and children, who were reportedly driven from their homes in a slum of Nairobi by security forces, Catholic church sources said.
Catholic Information Service Africa (CISA) and Independent Catholic News UK said over five thousand people are now homeless after a contingent of police and city council guards demolished their houses at the Deep Sea, a slum within the Consolata Shrine area of Westlands district in Nairobi.
In a reaction Ekklesia, a London based theological think tank and news service, commented that the «move will be compared with the internationally condemned clearances in Zimbabwe," another troubled African nation where thousands of people were forced to leave their homes.
Residents told reporters that "heavily-armed personnel raided the slum dwelling" in Nairobi at around 1.30am local time Saturday, September 24. They allegedly ordered everybody to leave their houses before pulling down the structures using bulldozers.
SLUM PLEAS
"Our pleas to them to let us take out our belongings fell on deaf ears, they said they were working on orders from the Provincial Commissioner, and they would not leave until every structure had be demolished," slum resident Phillip Ingosi was quoted as saying.
Officials were not immediately available for comment.
"We did not create the slum but we have only been trying to improve the lives of slum dwellers," added Catholic priest Franco Cellana, one of several missionaries working with two Italian non governmental organizations in the area, the news agencies reported.
Cellana and other Christians were involved in building a water and sewerage system and health centre and started several income generating projects for the slum residents.
"UNFAIR ORDER"
It was not immediately clear what motivated the authorities to clear the homes, however officials have reportedly said they want to "upgrade" slums in the city, apparently to improve its image. Jared Wachira, the chairperson of the Consolata Shrine Charity Committee, was quoted as saying it "was unfair for the government to order the demolition of so many residential houses without organizing for alternative accommodation for those affected."
Leaving "young children hungry and in the cold for several nights is an inhuman act by the government, especially given that no notice had been given to the residents," he told CISA in an interview.
Missionaries are now seeking alternative means to resettle the victims and provide them with basic necessities, Catholic news agencies reported. (With Stefan J. Bos, BosNewsLife Research and reports from Kenya).
