Unidentified people destroying a fence at a residence along Warai South road in Karen, Nairobi, March 12, 2017. Photo Courtesy
Nairobi Senator Mike Sonko on Sunday offered a Sh500,000 reward to any police officer who will "shoot and kill land grabbers" captured in a video pulling down a gate in Karen.The Senator said he would stand surety in case of repercussions and that he would do whatever it takes to recover the land.
Sonko, who is in Mombasa with Jubilee Party members led by President Uhuru Kenyatta and DP William Ruto, said the "shameless goons" seen at the residence along Warai South road took advantage of his absence.The footage shows men pulling down a black gate and cutting down a hedge.They were later arrested and taken to Karen police station but were set free due to lack of evidence.An officer who wanted to remain anonymous said, "We were tipped off about two hours ago, but, the men have been released." The Senator had in 2015, obtained a court order preventing a private developer from constructing on the land where a grandmother's house once stood.Sonko reported that he had obtained the order following the developer's demolition of the 102-year-old woman's house in Pangani, Nairobi.In the same year, the Senator led a demonstration against the grabbing of a portion of land that had been set aside for a water reservoir in Nairobi's Loresho area.Bulldozers and trucks were on the land on which construction had been stopped after residents complained. At least one acre has been hived off the reservoir that serves Loresho and Spring Valley estates.