Lamu senator Anwar Loitiptip has called for the immediate review and audit of all parcels of land allocated to mega national projects in the county.
Anwar, who spoke in Lamu on Sunday, just two days after his election was upheld by the Supreme Court, said he had launched a personal war on all land grabbing syndicates in the region.
He said he was determined to unearth an elaborate land grabbing scheme where locals have been conned of their land on the pretence that they were being set aside for mega projects when actually they were going to tycoons.
He said many have been rendered squatters after being evicted from their ancestral land by tycoons using fake titles.
He pledged to have an independent agency formed to audit all land and ensure any queries are sorted out for the benefit of the public.
The senator cited the 975 acres set aside for the Sh200 billion Coal-fired Power Plant at Kwasasi in Hindi division, the 3,206 acres for the establishment of a Sh21 billion wind power plant at Baharini Village in Mpeketoni, a parcel bordering the Sh2.5 trillion Lapsset project in Kililana and Mashunduani villages as well as the Swahili Schemes, all in Lamu West land that required a fresh review and auditing.
He accused local administrators majorly chiefs and Nyumba Kumi elders for being notorious propagators of land grabbing.
“Land remains one of the major challenges facing locals here and unfortunately, most leaders don’t want to do anything about it.We appreciate the fact that these multi billion projects are intended to transform Lamu economically but we won’t also allow them to dupe locals.That’s why a fresh review and audit of all these lands in absolutely necessary,”Anwar said.
In 2015, President Uhuru Kenyatta directed the revocation of 350,000 acres that had been irregularly acquired in Lamu.
The land was subsequently handed back to the county government for administration.
The senator wants the National Lands Commission to explain who the true owners are.
“Nobody is saying anything on whether the land even still exist or whether the properties were repossessed. Our long term cry has been that such lands could used to resettle squatters but it’s obvious that the people of Lamu have been played.The NLC should give us the answers we seek,” Loitiptip said.
He wondered why the NLC was not making any effort to ensure all land owners in Lamu acquire title deeds which he said would provide security against grabbers.
Lamu county continues to face massive historical land issues top among them being land grabbing, which is happening at a high rate because over 60 per cent of land is not surveyed and owners issued with title deeds.
This comes shortly after at least 1,250 Lamu residents whose land was acquired for three major projects urged the government to compensate them this year.
The projects are the Sh200 billion coal-fired power plant in Hindi, the Sh21 billion wind power project in Mpeketoni and the establishment of the county headquarters in Mokowe.
The total amount to be paid out is unclear.
The compensation has stalled following stalemates between investors and wananchi over the yearsn.
At least 1,000 people are to be paid for land where the coal plant in Hindi and the wind power project in Mpeketoni will be put up.
Residents whose land was acquired for the coal plant have been waiting since 2016. Some 975 acres were acquired from 600 individuals in Hindi.
Spokesperson Abdulrahman Aboud said it is time the government and investors came clear on whether the coal project is viable so they can decide what to do with their land.
The land has been lying idle for four years due to the controversy and opposition surrounding the project.
In 2016, NLC cleared all the 600 individuals for compensation.