Senate report paves way to ending Mombasa evictions

Nagib Shamsan and Senator Mohamed Faki at the Senator’s office in Ganjoni, Mombasa on Friday / BRIAN OTIENO

Mombasa Senator Mohamed Faki at his office in Ganjoni, Mombasa on Friday / BRIAN OTIENO

Evictions due to land disputes in Mombasa will soon be a thing of the past, Senator Mohamed Faki has said.

This is after the adoption of the report by the Senate Standing Committee on Lands and Natural Resources on a petition by Mombasa residents, led by Nagib Shamsan.

The petition seeks recognition of land ownership rights and redress for historical injustices.

On Friday, Faki said the report's adoption is a critical step toward lasting solutions to Mombasa’s long-standing land challenges and ensuring justice and dignity for affected residents.

“The report has four main recommendations. The first is that the National Land Commission, which has the mandate to address historical land injustices, should fast track its report, which I am told is already out,” Faki, who is the committee chair, said at his Mombasa office.

“The NLC has said there should be no evictions in Mombasa until the government buys off those disputed lands,” he noted.

The Senate report also recommends that national and county governments buy off disputed parcels of land so that squatters can be settled on them.

This has been done once in Likoni, when the national government bought off the vast Waitiki land on behalf of the residents. 

The residents were allowed to stay on it while paying Sh2,000 monthly to the government, until the debt is settled.

Faki said the land question has been a thorn in the flesh of most Coast residents.

In Mwembe Kuku, in Mvita subcounty, there are parcels of land that have been subdivided and sold off illegally.

“For example, for plot 232, when the title was issued in 1908, the land was 3.02 acres in size. But recently, they issued another title in 2002, saying the same plot measures 5.2 acres, a difference of about two acres.

“Where did these two acres come from? The county government has the responsibility to probe this and issue a report,” Faki said.

Public participation is a prerequisite for the subdivision of public land, he added, but lamented that advertisement of the exercise is usually hidden in small portions of the national newspapers, where residents would not easily see them.

“In most cases, residents do not know that their lands are being subdivided. One knows their plot number is seven but later they receive a letter saying their plot is now number 21. One has no idea how that happened.”

The senator said the county has to be vigilant and ensure all residents are informed if there is any pending subdivision of land.

A case in point is in Kashani, Bamburi ward of Kisauni subcounty, where tension is high over the impending subdivision of 900 acres of land.

The NLC issued a directive that 300 out of the 900 acres of land belonging to a company be subdivided for residents.

“This has brought tension because some of the residents are being forced to pay Sh500,000 for the plots they live on while some, said to be indigenous residents, are not required to pay,” Faki said.

The Senator said it is not easy to identify those who are indigenous and those who aren't, rendering implementation difficult.

“Any Kenyan has the freedom to settle anywhere in Kenya. You cannot go anywhere and say these are the indigenous people and these are not. That will be discriminatory,” Faki said, while calling on the NLC to revisit the Kashani land issue.

He said the Sh2 billion that was set aside by President William Ruto to settle squatters at the Coast in the last fiscal year was slashed to Sh500 million, which also did not see the light of day following the 2024 Finance Bill protests.