NAIROBI — The crash of bulldozers near Nyayo National Stadium this week has set off a fresh political storm, pitting Kenya Railways against Kiambu Governor Kimani Wamatangi, whose businesses were among those flattened.
Kenya Railways says the demolitions were lawful, planned and unavoidable. Governor Wamatangi says they were targeted and unjust.
Late on Tuesday night, security officers sealed off sections of land near the stadium as heavy machinery moved in. By morning, a restaurant, a car wash linked to the governor and several neighbouring businesses including liquor shops and beauty salons.
In a statement issued the following day, Kenya Railways said the operation was part of a broader effort to reclaim land needed for transport projects ahead of the 2027 Africa Cup of Nations, which Kenya is set to co-host.
The agency said it plans to build a railway station next to Nyayo Stadium and a spur line linking Nairobi Central Station to Talanta Sports City Stadium through Kibera. The aim, it said, is to ease the movement of fans and teams during the tournament.
“Kenya Railways is in the process of evicting all encroachers as we repossess land identified for the development,” the statement said. Any structures found on the corridor, it warned, would be removed “without further notice and at the encroacher’s risk and cost”.
The corporation insists that all occupants were issued with notices well in advance and given time to vacate.
Governor Wamatangi disputes that account. Standing amid the rubble on Wednesday, flanked by religious leaders, he described the demolition as “political persecution”.
“I started here in 1994 washing cars,” he said. “I grew from that. I took a 65-year lease from Kenya Railways and I have paid faithfully for all those years.”
He said he held a valid court order stopping the demolition and questioned why it was ignored. According to court filings, the governor had moved to the Milimani Commercial Magistrates’ Court seeking to block the eviction, arguing that the property had been leased legally for more than two decades.
Governor Wamatangi also claimed that officials linked to Kenya Railways visited the site on December 17, 2025, and threatened eviction without issuing written notice.
Kenya Railways has not publicly addressed the court order, but maintains that the land falls within a railway corridor earmarked for national infrastructure.
The dispute touches on a familiar fault line in Nairobi: public land, private leases and the rush to prepare the city for major international events. With AFCON less than two years away, pressure is mounting on authorities to deliver transport projects on time.
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