- Families that had interred their loved ones at the cemetery can no longer visit their (loved ones') graveyards
- In Likoni, private developers are reportedly encroaching on lands meant for graveyards and are constructing houses
Image: BRIAN OTIENO
Religious leaders in Mombasa have raised a red flag over the encroachment of cemeteries by private developers and small scale traders.
The alarm was raised in a meeting between Haki Yetu Organization, the Coast Interfaith Council of Clerics and National Land Commission in Mombasa on Thursday.
Haki Yetu land and housing officer John Paul Obonyo said small scale traders in Kongowea are slowly turning the Makaburini cemetery into a dumping site.
According to Obonyo, the small scale traders have invaded the graveyards and have set up temporary business structures.
"The Makaburini cemetery in Kongowea, near the Kongowea market, is slowly being turned into a market. The small scale traders have invaded the graveyard and have set up temporary structures where they fry and sell groundnuts," said Obonyo.
According to Obonyo, families that had interred their loved ones at the cemetery can no longer visit their (loved ones') graveyards.
In Likoni, private developers are reportedly encroaching on land meant for graveyards and are constructing houses.
In July 2021, the county government had to clear garbage from Makaburi cemetery after an uproar by the families and residents.
"There are over 100 graves on one side of the cemetery that has been divided into two by a cabro road. That is the side that had been turned into a dumpsite,"said Obonyo.
He has warned that if swift action is not taken, the dumpsite will return and the dead will no longer rest in peace.
Mombasa county lands executive Hussein Mohamed alias Amadow told the Star he is yet to receive complaints of encroachment but said the county already had plans to stop the encroachment.
“The governor, in his wisdom, has a plan to put up boundary walls around all public cemeteries in the county,”said Amadow on phone.
He said the process has already started with the Kiziwi and the Mbaraki public cemeteries being fenced to keep off land grabbers.
“If someone has encroached any part of a public cemetery, the county will have no choice but to prosecute that person and possibly seize the property they will have put up or bring it down,” the executive said.
According to Amadow the county will also audit all pieces of land set aside for cemeteries to safe guard them.
Obonyo in the meantime has said that there is need to educate religious leaders on matters land.
“Preaching on pulpits alone is not enough. Religious leaders must come out and work with the county government and the NLC to sensitize people on land matters,” Obonyo said.
According to Obonyo, many people are not aware that Mombasa county government has set aside Sh50 million for titling in the five years.
“The question is, which areas will benefit from this? It is thus important that people get involved in this to know what is being done using their money,” he said.
About 100 religious institutions have applied for Temporary Occupation Licenses for the areas they have put their houses of worship.
National Land Commission Mombasa County coordinator Edward Bosire says that most of the institutions are yet to follow up on them.
“We are still processing the TOLs because there are public lands under county governments and there are those under the national government. We want to first ensure that those applied for are under the county government before issuing the TOLs,” said Bosire.
Bosire, who is also the secretary of the county land regularization and formalization committee, said there is still a long way to go when it comes to knowledge of land matters in Mombasa.
He also urged religious institutions to embrace alternative dispute resolution mechanisms to resolve pending land disputes.
“Negotiation, mediation and reconciliation is the best way to resolve disputes instead of the tedious court process which may take up to 10 years to resolve a single case,” Bosire noted.
He said some churches are squatters on land they have put their houses of worship on.
CICC Youth desk chair Erick Ochieng admitted the meeting opened their eyes on many land matters that they did not know.
“Many times we have been complaining about certain land issues but now I realize we have been wrong. We had not known many things about land,” said Ochieng.