by The Campaign Team
Responding to Urgent Actions and Individuals at Risk
Please join us in taking action on this crisis facing 400 families in Kenya. Amnesty is asking activists around the world to mobilize on behalf of residents of City Carton who were forcibly evicted on May 10, 2013 from an informal settlement in the capital, Nairobi.
On May 17 their homes were completely demolished. They are homeless and in urgent need of food, water and adequate accommodation. Police, who were providing security for the eviction, used live ammunition and teargas. Further evictions are expected in the neighbouring settlement, Opendo.
Nearly 400 homes were destroyed in a forced eviction carried out at City Carton in Nairobi West.The settlement, established in 1966, is one of the smaller informal settlements in Nairobi.
The settlement was cordoned off by 170 police officers between 4 and 5 am on May 10
Residents were woken by groups of young men who burst into their homes and forced them out before demolishing the informal settlement using crowbars and sledgehammers.
Senior police officers told Amnesty International the demolitions had been carried out by young men hired by the owners of the City Carton land. The police officers also said they had provided security for the eviction on the orders of the Milimani Law Courts in Nairobi.
City Carton residents had been given no opportunity to engage in any consultation with the authorities. Rumours of a possible eviction had spread in the settlement but no notice was given to them. They were therefore unprepared.
Most of those forcibly evicted were now homeless, and told Amnesty International that they feared the police and young men would return to flatten the settlement entirely and fence off the area.
TAKE ACTION ON BEHALF OF CITY CARTON RESIDENTS!
1. Add your name to the international online action lead by Amnesty Ireland: Send an appeal to the Nairobi county governor, Dr Evans Kidero
2. Governor Kidero Evans is active on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/EvansKidero. Write a message on his “wall” reminding him that forced evictions are illegal under international human rights law! You can should call on him to:
• Stop any further attempt to demolish either settlement.
• Ensure that all those forcibly evicted have immediate access to food, water, healthcare services, and shelter.
• Ensure that all those forcibly evicted are provided with effective remedies, including adequate alternative housing and compensation for any losses.
• Put all necessary safeguards in place to prevent further forced evictions.
3. Tweet the Governor and raise awareness on Twitter. Here are some sample tweets:
.@kideroevans No more #forced evictions in Nairobi! Compensate those who have lost their homes! #AmnestyNow
.@kideroevans Victims of #forced evictions in Nairobi need immediate access to food, water, healthcare, and shelter. #AmnestyNow
.@kideroevans #AmnestyNow calls on you to provide housing and compensation for #forced eviction victims in Carton City and Opendo.
400 Kenyan families homeless without food/water after #forced eviction. Act with #AmnestyNow at http://bit.ly/114mUsE
Ask the governor of Nairobi County @kideroevans to provide basic necessities for victims of a #forced eviction. http://bit.ly/114mUsE
4. Share this blog and actions with others via social media and email.
