Thirty-six families in Vikobani, Jomvu constituency, have reason to smile after they finally laid their hands on a title deed for which they have been battling in court for almost a decade.
The residents were fighting for a two-acre land on which they have lived for over 30 years. A private developer laid claim to the land and had threatened to evict them.
The developer owns a nearby container depot and had on several occasions issued eviction threats to the residents.
The frequent threats forcing the squatters to seek legal advice from Haki Yetu Organisation which advised that they go to court.
After a nine-year court battle, the squatters won the case. It is a rare win with land activists and experts saying only one out of 100 such cases are won by residents.
The land lies in a prime location near the Moi International Airport and the SGR terminus in Mombasa. It was valued at about Sh300 million.
On Friday, the families received the title deed for the parcel. It was presented to them by Mombasa lands chief officer June Mwajuma and Haki Yetu executive director Father Gabriel Dolan.
The title deed for plot 3717 is now in the names of Joyce Malemba Mwasaru and Mzee Ali Ramadhan and 34 other families.
Mwasaru said it had been a tough fight.
“We were 36 families when the eviction threats started. But as we fought on, many deserted us. Out of the 36 members, we remained only 11,” she said.
Justice was partly delayed by files that would often be missing at crucial times, hurting proceedings.
At one time, the files went missing for two years after the court had ruled in favour of the residents on April 17, 2018.
“After the ruling, we went to lodge the decree so as to change the ownership of the title but the file at the Lands office went missing,” Mwasaru said.
By the time it was found, after more than a year, it was a skeleton.
“I stayed at the Lands office archives for two days trying to reconstruct the file.”
Haki Yetu programmes officer John Paul Obonyo who has been on the journey with the residents said they made at least 70 trips to the Lands office in Mombasa in search of the missing files.
In February this year, the file was finally found and upon search, they found the title deed was still in the name of the private developer.
“We raised the matter and after two weeks, it was rectified and it was put under our names,” Mwasaru said.
She said Father Dolan was instrumental in their fight because the residents did not understand legal issues.
“He even paid some of the fees we were charged at a time when we had run out of funds and the case was in danger of collapsing.”
The squatters now say they want to settle rates issues with the county government before the land is surveyed afresh and subdivided.
“Our intention is to subdivide the land amongst ourselves so that each, including those who deserted us, owns their own parcel,” Mwasaru said.
However, those who deserted the course will have to pay Sh15,000 each for them to be included in the subdivision process.
“We will swear an affidavit with those who have paid,” Mwasaru said.
This is the second successful case that Obonyo and Father Dolan have handled in the last one year after that of Owino Uhuru estate.
“We are working with about 40 communities in Mombasa on land issues so as to ensure the security of tenure is enjoyed by residents,” Obonyo said.
He called for the hastening of land cases, especially in Mombasa.
Dolan said the successful case needs celebration because there are very few ‘land cases in Kenya that you can celebrate’.
“They take many years in court. Nine years is a long time,” he said.
Dolan asked the state to regularise the land situation in Mombasa where he claimed 65 per cent of residents are squartters.
Mombasa has a population of more than 1.2 million people.
“If we don’t solve the land problem in Mombasa then there is no way you can improve housing,” he said.
County lands chief officer Mwajuma said Mombasa has a unique land situation.
“There is a unique phenomenon in Mombasa that you do not find in the Constitution of Kenya that is called ‘Tenant at Will’ whereby people own houses but they do not own the land,” Mwajuma said.
She said the county government was working to resolve the issue.
“This is one of those success stories where 36 families owned the structures but did not own the land. Today we are celebrating their ownership of the land,” Mwajuma said.
Hamza Kombo, who represented the office of area MP Badi Twalib, said they will ensure basic infrastructure is developed in the area for residents.
“We will ensure there is good drainage, road access and social amenities like health centres and at least one public ECDE and primary school,” Kombo said.
He said Jomvu has a lot of land issues especially in areas like Maganda Miritini, Miritini Madukani, Mungusi, Kizurini and Kasarani.
“We will continue working with Haki Yetu and other organisations to ensure that we solve these land problems,” he said.
Edited by P.O
