Fishermen in Mombasa are crying foul over the grabbing of their landing sites by private developers.
They are currently in limbo after realising that of the 49 landing sites allocated to them, only five have been mapped.
They are scared that if the land is grabbed, the future of fishing will die, leading to loss of jobs for fishers who solely depend on the business.
The fishermen have asked President Uhuru Kenyatta to come to their rescue and act on the directive he issued last November that all gazetted fish landing sites be titled by the end of the first quarter of this year.
So far, only 14 landing sites have been gazetted.
Mombasa Beach Management Unit chairperson Mercy Mghanga said more than 3,000 fishermen risk losing their jobs.
“Where do we all go and how are we going to divide only five landing sites among 3,000 of us?" Mghanga asked.
Margaret Angore, a fish vendor, said she has to feed her children and "depends on the ocean like my husband".
A human rights organisation, Haki Yetu, is concerned that none of the landing sites has title deeds. The organisation fears the land will all be grabbed, leaving the fishermen with nothing
Haki Yetu programme manager Peter Kazungu said they have been following up on the issue as the first quarter ended last month.
“Our question is; if the President had it in his heart that he would repossess all these landing sites, why is he giving the go-ahead for only five landing sites? Who possesses the other landing sites that cannot be repossessed and given to the public?” Kazungu posed.
The five landing sites that have been repossessed include Tudor, Timbwani, Old Port, Mshomoroni and Kitanga Juu.
Haki Yetu land programme officer Furaha Charo said even though they have been repossessed, they still have issues as construction by private developers is ongoing.
“For example, when you go to Tudor, there is a big ongoing construction of a school boundary wall which has been built close to the landing site, so you remain with questions that if the land has been repossessed, how is it the construction is still ongoing,” Charo said.
(Edited by R. Wamochie)
