Kenyan court protects Nubians’ rights in eviction case — Nation Kenya

The Supreme Court of Kenya dismissed an appeal by Kenya Railways Corporation concerning the eviction of about 3,500 members of the Nubian community from a plot in Kibos, Kisumu County. The court upheld the findings of lower courts that the residents’ constitutional rights had been violated during the eviction, Nation Kenya reports.

The court did not decide the ownership issue

The panel of judges stressed that the case did not concern the establishment of ownership rights to the land, which was considered state-owned and reserved for railway needs. The court examined whether Kenya Railways had violated the residents’ rights during the eviction.

The court noted that the community had used the plot under a licence granted by the British colonial authorities and that subsequent governments had not terminated this permission. The judges stated that the permit had been granted to the entire community, which had developed housing, schools, medical facilities and other sites in the area over generations.

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The eviction took place in 2021

The dispute escalated after Kenya Railways issued a seven-day eviction notice on March 9, 2020. Community representatives said that the demolition of structures and the eviction took place during the night of February 5–6, 2021, during a COVID-19 curfew and despite an active court order.

Residents also claimed that the National Land Commission had not issued the eviction notice required by law. According to them, residential homes, schools, mosques and medical facilities were destroyed during the operation. Kenya Railways stated that the plot was part of the Kibos railway station reserve area and that long-term residence there could not turn state land into private property.

The Environment and Land Court ruled in favour of the community in August 2021, and the Court of Appeal upheld that decision in March 2025. The Supreme Court stated that the right to housing on state land may arise from long-term residence even without a title document. The ruling gives affected members of the Nubian community the opportunity to seek compensation for destroyed housing and facilities in a separate civil lawsuit.