MORE than 20 families are out in the cold after their houses were brought down in Syokimau after the owner of the land where the properties were constructed eight years ago emerged and claimed it yesterday.

The owner of the said land, a Nguli, who resides in Kangundo is said to have gotten wind that his property in Syokimau had been by a company known as Komarock Building Ltd to more than 40 people in pieces of 40x40 feet in 2005.

Nguli is also said to have gone to court last year to seek eviction orders that were granted in October last year. The more than 40 people who had built palatial homes on the said land, among them Jeremiah Mugo, were issued with eviction orders but preferred renegotiation to re-buy the property.

Speaking to the press yesterday, Mugo said Nguli was not interested in selling his land and decided to evict them. Demolition was undertaken yesterday morning using earth movers and large tractors to bring down the homes.

Mugo said some of the houses brought down are valued at more than Sh5 million. "We are now in the cold and do not know what our children will say or react when they come back from school," he said.

He said majority of the owners whose homes were destroyed were not present at the time and that most of their property could have been buried in the debris.

Another resident, Mary Wambui said she bought a plot from Komarock Building in 2005 at a cost of Sh180,000 and two years later she put up a Sh4.5 million.

"I took a bank loan from KCB for the construction of this house and now it is gone, what will I do except to wait for death here," she said By the time of going to the press, most of the home owners had not shown up while others were still guarding a few of their property saved from the demolition.

The owner of Komarock Building, Waititu Mwangi, was said to be away and could not be reached to explain how he managed to sell 40 plots belonging to another individual without consent.