Demolition victims vent frustrations on Twitter

Dar es Salaam. Some Kimara residents have taken to the social media platform (twitter) to vent their frustrations over the ongoing demolition of their houses.

The demolition exercise, which is expected to affect over 10,000 people, is taking place along the Morogoro Road to pave the way for expansion of the road to eight lanes from the current four.

The residents started a trending hashtag #KimaraNiSisi yesterday morning and by the end of the day thousands of twitter users used the hashtag to express their views on the exercise.

Some of those, who commented through the hashtag, criticised the authorities for conducting the exercise without compensating victims.

They argued that even if the ongoing exercise is in accordance with the law, humanity should have come first.

“The ongoing demolition is upsetting and will only create the atmosphere of hatred. Humanity is more important than the laws,” writes Sikika Executive Director Mr Irenei Kiria.

Another social media user @YusuphAI sympathised with the victims, wondering where the victims are going to stay.

He wrote: “Where are they going now? How can you take someone’s home where s/he used to live there for more than 25 yrs? #KimaraNiSisi.”

Carol Ndosi wrote on her twitter handler apparently questioning the government’s decision to increase the road reserve area from 60 metres to 120 metres.

According to another social media user CWPedro, the decision by the government has affected many wananchi .

However, another twitter user, Tanzania Yetu was against those, who are sympathising with the victims.

According to the user, in order to build a modern city the government has no option but to must do away with the old one.

But his post drew reactions from various people including Kigoma Urban legislator Mr Zitto Kabwe, who said that the government should not have demolished the properties of wananchi.

Sombre mood is renting the air in the city’s Kimara and Mbezi suburbs after the government started demolishing the houses.

Residents, whose houses have been earmarked for demolition protested that they acquired lands as far back as the 1970s and back then they claim the reserve was 60 metres on either side of the road.

However, their cry has been ignored.

The Citizen observed mansions worth hundreds of millions being flattened or being earmarked to face the same fate.