Two opposing groups are caught up in a struggle over ownership of a plot in Karanja Estate in Kibera.
There ensued a melee on Wednesday after Amber Osman, one of the people claiming ownership allegedly hired youth to demolish the San Siro recreational centre that was constructed by Salama Community, which says it also owns the land.
The demolition was carried out at dawn after which Osman constructed a fence barrier to prevent further encroachment.
The action created animosity between the two groups with Salama Community claiming that the plot is a communal land.
According to the documents in Osman’s possession and which he claims that Salama Community was issued with duplicates, the latter was given a three-month notice to leave the plot.
“I legally own this plot since I have all the legal documents supporting the same. I have enough evidence that I own this plot. With me here is the title deed and as you can see, these occupants were given a three-month notice to vacate,” said Osman.
However, Salama Community has stood its ground claiming that Osman's documents are not genuine.
“This community had 82 plots of which houses were built on 65 of them leaving 17 plots for social amenities. Some people have manipulated everything and convinced the City Council to register in order to obtain title deeds from Ardhi House,” explained Abdalla Sabbit, Salama Community chair.
Despite Salama Community’s position, it was, however, clear from both sides that the court had ruled in favour of Amber Osman as the plot's owner.
“We went to court for the first time and I won the case before my opponents appealed. When we went to the Court of Appeal, I also won the appeal. The court served me with a warrant,” added Osman.
The police, however, were reluctant to comment on the matter despite claims that they were present at the time of demolition of the San Siro Centre.
The tag of war continues as Salama Community has sworn not to leave the plot to Osman.