Can a Long Shot Lawsuit End Nairobi's Forced Evictions

Daniel Howden examines the potentially precedent-setting case brought by a group of slum-dwellers. "The implications of the case are enormous in a city where 67 per cent of the population lives on less than 2 per cent of the land," writes Howden. "The petition is being seen as a test for Kenya's much-vaunted new constitution that passed a referendum last year and is supposed to guarantee peoples' rights to adequate housing and secure tenure."

"Jane Weru, the director of the Union of Slum-Dwellers, says the land crisis is a 'time-bomb' that could destroy Nairobi in the near future. 'This is a national crisis that can cause a civil war,' she warns. The looming court battle is so important, she says, because 'in this case you have a direct link between high level corruption and its impact on the poorest people in the city.'"

Thanks to Daniel Lippman