Renowed Hip hop artist Julius Owino, alias Juliani’s brainchild project, the Dandora Hip Hop Centre, has been demolished in the ongoing operation to reclaim riparian land by the Nairobi City County government.
The heartbroken artist said that despite every effort, the Sakaja-led government has gone on to demolish the centre, which was a hub for the youth and women to showcase and grow their talents.
In a video clip he shared on his social media handles, bulldozers were taking down the two-storey hub.
“This is not the end but inauma sana (it’s so painful)! To think that we were working on expanding to the neighbouring spaces and upgrading the facility.” He captioned the video.
Prior to today, he had shared that he received news of the imminent demolition, and asked his fans to stand with him during the ‘trying moments’.
“Gotten word that our community centre, Dandora Hip Hop City is being demolished. The whole 2 storey building. Yes, it’s close to a river. We purchased the building more than 7 years ago.” Juliani stated yesterday.
The government has been on a spree to reclaim riparian land and move people away from rivers, especially after the recent floods that killed hundreds of people across the country, many of them in slum areas.
The demolitions have been met with mixed reactions from Kenyans and leaders.
The opposition leaders have called the demolitions barbaric, questioning why the government is targeting informal settlements only.
On Sunday, Azimio la Umoja co-principal Eugene Wamalwa asked theKrnya Kwanza government why it is not demolishing buildings in affluent Nairobi neighbourhoods like Runda, where some houses are built on riparian land.
The DAP-Kenya Party leader said the government is targeting the poor with the demolition and sparing the rich.
