• Governor says tycoons who evict squatters will not develop the land.
• Kingi says those evicted wrongly will be allowed back to their land.
Kilifi Governor Amason Kingi has said his administration will not approve any construction on disputed land.
Kingi on Monday said tycoons who evict squatters will not develop the land.
“If the tycoons think Kilifi is a place they can come and play around with the residents, then they must think again,” he said.
“The county government will withhold any approval permits on land that has been grabbed, or that residents claim to be theirs until that matter is resolved.”
He spoke at Luxury village in Mtwapa after getting wind of a demolition exercise on Monday morning.
It turned out an abandoned building nicknamed ‘Fort Jesus’ condemned by the National Construction Authority was due for demolition.
“So, if you demolish the houses of my people, you will do so but that land will remain idle. It will not be developed,” Kingi said.
The governor said many of the court orders tycoons use to evict people are fake.
The county has instructed its lawyers to start following up on all court orders that have been used to demolish houses or evict people from their lands.
If the orders used are found to have been fake, the squatters will be allowed back on the land.
“The county government will help them rebuild the houses,” Kingi said.
Kilifi Senator Stewart Madzayo said it is a rights violation to use fake court orders
“The blame lies with the security officers. They should not be quick to execute court orders without due diligence,” Madzayo said.
The law forbids inhumane eviction of people from their areas of residence, he said.
On Monday, Kingi met with the Kilifi county commissioner and other administrative officers to find a solution to the evictions, which in most cases turn violent and lead to death.
Last Tuesday, three people including a four-year-old child suffered gunshot injuries after police officers broke up a protest by squatters in Mtwapa.
Police said a court order had been obtained to drive about 20 families from the disputed four acres which were initially six.
Resident Salim Kasim told the Star that his mother, Rehema, was killed in 2001 over the land.
“The parcel had been sold to her by the father of the person driving us away,” he said.
Kasim said his mother disappeared after a court case involving the land.
He said police should ensure eviction orders they receive are genuine before executing them.
“They must ensure all the parties were involved in the court process before they proceed,” Kingi said, adding that he has witnessed people being evicted without being served with the orders.
“In this very same village (Luxury), there was an order purportedly from the court seeking to evict the people yet they had never been taken to any court by anyone.”
The governor, who is a lawyer, asked, “How can someone be issued with a court order even before the other party being summoned, let alone being given a chance to defend themselves?
(Edited by R.Wamochie)