A fresh eviction storm is brewing in Athi River, following a stern notice issued by the Kenya Meat Commission (KMC) demanding that all unlawful occupants vacate Land Reference Number 10281 within 14 days—or face forceful eviction.
The notice, dated 7th May 2025, comes on the heels of a ruling delivered by Justice A. Nyakuri on 10th July 2024 in Machakos ELC Case No. 227 of 2017. The Environment and Land Court confirmed KMC as the rightful legal and beneficial owner of the contentious parcel, quashing any remaining hope for settlers holding on to the land without legal title.
The notice refers explicitly to a 90-day grace period that was ordered by the court starting 10th July 2024, which lapsed on 10th October 2024. Despite this, the document notes that “you have yet to vacate from the said property.” The warning is unambiguous: any remaining residents now have just 14 days from 7th May 2025 to remove themselves and all their property—or risk forceful eviction “at your risk as to damage and loss.”
This development has sent shockwaves across the region, drawing eerie parallels to the infamous Portland Cement/Mavoko demolitions in 2023, which left hundreds of families homeless. In that case, residents who had lived on the land for years—some even possessing documents of ownership—were evicted overnight, with bulldozers reducing homes to rubble under tight police watch. Critics decried the demolitions as inhumane and abrupt, triggering a national debate on land ownership, title fraud, and government accountability.
Much like the Mavoko case, the Athi River scenario is shaping up to be another flashpoint in Kenya’s ongoing land struggles, where the clash between legality and humanitarian considerations leaves vulnerable families caught in the crossfire. While KMC may be legally justified in reclaiming its land, the looming evictions raise questions about the human cost of such actions—especially if carried out without meaningful resettlement plans.
For residents still holding out hope, the notice offers little leeway. With law enforcement and county officials already copied into the document, it is evident that the next steps are already in motion. The eviction, should it proceed, will add to the growing list of high-profile land disputes where court victories quickly translate into bulldozer operations—often with little public empathy for those displaced.
Civil society organizations and human rights defenders are now calling on the government to intervene with compassion and foresight. “Yes, land must be protected, but people must not be treated like weeds to be uprooted overnight,” said one land rights activist familiar with the Athi River case.
As the countdown begins, all eyes are on KMC, the courts, and the state machinery to see whether lessons from Mavoko have been learned—or whether Athi River will become the next tragic headline in Kenya’s unresolved land crisis.
