• Shifta War squatters in Lamu have demanded to be resettled back on their ancestral land to guard the graves of their forefathers.
• Spokesman Mohamed Mbwana on Sunday said their poverty is a result of a curse from their ancestors for neglecting their graves.
Shifta War squatters in Lamu have demanded they be resettled back in their ancestral lands to guard the graves of their forefathers.
Their spokesman Mohamed Mbwana on Sunday said their poverty is a result of a curse from their ancestors for neglecting their graves.
Thousands were displaced from their homes in Mvundeni, Kiunga, Ishakani, Rubu, Sendeni and Ashuwei areas of Lamu East during the Shifta war in the 1960s.
Mbwana said their ancestors' graves were overgrown with thickets after decades of being desolate.
He said they risk more curses for forsaking their ancestral lands, especially for neglecting the graves. He said customs require they watch over the graves and perform rituals.
The squatters haven’t been able to visit the graves to conduct the rituals. Mbwana said they were aware the ancestors were reeling in anger and could punish them anytime.
He said the squatters want to be resettled back in their ancestral lands to conduct cleansing rituals and seek forgiveness from their ancestors.
“We're supposed to watch over their graves and ensure they are respected but now that we are miles away, they aren’t happy. We believe the poverty facing us is because of the curses for letting their graves be overgrown with thickets. They have a right to be mad at us,” Mbwana said.
The squatters asked the national government to reveal the findings of the Truth, Justice and Reconciliation Commission report that documented the war and implement its recommendations. The squatters said they will sue the government to have it compelled to release the report.
Mbwana said it would be prudent for the world to know what caused the shifta war. They also want the government to clear the thickets and build them homes before they are resettled.
“We need to go back home. A lot is happening to us and we know the best thing is to go back to our ancestral lands,” Aisha Atim said.
The squatters have opposed a plan by the county government to resettle them and want the ongoing land surveys stopped.
Last year, the Lamu county government started plans to resettle at least 20,000 squatters in the next four years. The plan is to have all idle lands in the region identified, demarcated and each squatter allocated a title deed.
But the squatters said the exercise was riddled with corruption and was shrouded in secrecy.
Edited by Peter Obuya