Amani National Congress leader Musalia Mudavadi has accused the national government and the National Land Commission of failing to resolve historical land injustices in Lamu.
Speaking on Lamu Island’s meeting point in Mkunguni Square on Saturday, Mudavadi accused the NLC of sidelining the county government by targeting and acquiring large tracts of land without consulting the county or the affected communities.
He said there is a need to consult the residents. Mudavadi also asked the NLC to issue Lamu landowners with title deeds.
“Titles should be issued for all areas in Lamu, especially the Islands, inclusive of their farms on the mainland,” he said.
The ANC chief said most of the land apportioned to the Lapsset project had not been acquired honestly.
“Before NLC authorises payment, it should have first investigated how titles were acquired before rushing to compensate. Justice must also be done in land payouts,” he said.
“The people of Lamu deserve priority rather than the current trend where new landowners are compensated at the expense of the residents.
Mudavadi urged the lands agency to cancel all underhand land transactions. He said the commission is engaging in criminal activity by violating property laws.
“The law also provides that NLC holds in trust and is the custodian of community property and not the owner. NLC is engaging in crime when it forcibly alienates large tracts of community land without consulting the county,” he said.
Lamu Governor Issa Timamy accused NLC chairman Muhammad Swazuri of deliberately overlooking the county leadership whenever making land decisions on Lamu.
“As a county government, we won’t allow Swazuri to come from Nairobi and dictate what will be done on Lamu. He should even stop engaging in land issues without involving our people and us,” Timamy said.
“He should fully consult the county leadership before making any move as far as land is concerned here.”