Kenyan authorities have begun to move residents out of Africa's largest slum - the Kibera settlement in Nairobi. Officials expect to take from two to five years to clear the slum, which is home to about one million people.
The first people to move will be rehoused nearby in 300 newly built apartments, each paying about $10 (�6) a month in rent. But some residents and landlords have gone to court in a bid to stop the moves as they claim they own the land.
People in Kibera have had to cope with overcrowding, soaring crime rates and poor sanitation in recent years. Prime Minister Raila Odinga, who is the local MP, said the ground is being prepared for a "modern, low income residential estate with modern schools, markets, playgrounds and other facilities".
The BBC's Anne Mawathe in Kibera said some families began moving with their belongings at 0630 local time.They assembled to wait for trucks to take them to their new homes. The Kenyan government is taking on the huge project with backing from the UN.
But our reporter says land ownership in Kenya is very sensitive. More than 80 people a mix of landlords and residents have taken their grievance to court, arguing that the land in Kibera is theirs and the government should not be allowed to demolish the shacks.
About 90% of Kibera residents rent their homes from middleclass Kenyans who have built temporary structures on the government landover the last 30 years. The Nubian community an ethnic group who have been living on the land for more than a century - are also annoyed with the slum clearance. Ibrahim Diaby, a Nubian elder, says improvements could be made to the existing housing in the slum.
"My house has water and electricity, but I'm restricted from putting up a permanent building because the government says the land belongs to them," he said. "It's a question of natural justice. We've lived in Kibera long before Nairobi was Nairobi, long before Kenya was Kenya."
The high court has ordered that the demolition cannot being until their case is heard next month. Mr Odinga said the slum now houses many more people than the Nubians, and must be redeveloped.
"Over the years, it has grown to be cosmopolitan with many Kenyan communities found here," he said. "But it also remains the biggest slum in Africa south of the Sahara. It is not a reputation we can be proud of."
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