Demonstrations erupted in Msabaha area of Malindi subcounty after an Indian tycoon allegedly evicted 20 families from disputed land.
The businessman accompanied by police officers stormed the land estimated to be 74 acres and demolished homes of the residents who claimed to have lived there for many years.
Police are said to have beaten the families who were trying to resist eviction, leaving some with injuries.
They later regrouped at the Malindi-Mombasa highway where they staged protests, closing the road for over two hours and demanding justice.
The families said they will celebrate the New Year in the cold after the eviction from the only place they called home.
Residents carried twigs, stones and pangas shouting and singing songs calling for justice.
Mbarak Omar, one of the affected residents, wondered why the tycoon came to evict them without any court order.
He urged Lands Chief Administrative Secretary Gideon Mung'aro and Kilifi Governor Amason Kingi to intervene and help them get justice.
Omar said the locals planted coconut, mangoes and cashews nut which were cut down by the tycoon.
''What the tycoon did was wrong, using police officers to evict people who have lived here all these years,'' he said.
Former Ganda MCA Abdulrahman Omar said the locals buried their grandfathers there, having lived on the land since the 1970s.
He said the Indian tycoon appeared from nowhere and claimed he was the legitimate owner of the land.
Omar wondered why the tycoon hired police to evict the poor locals despite the fact that there was a pending court case coming up for hearing on January 5, 2021.
"Police should follow the law. They used excessive force to evict the locals without any court order," he said.
Denis Gona said the tycoon has no documents to prove that the land is his, adding that the locals will still go back and stay on their land.
"We shall not move out of the land because the Indian tycoon wants to grab our land. The government should come in and help us get back our land," he said.
Samuel Gona said the families are the genuine landowners and accused the tycoon of grabbing their land.
Edited by Henry Makori
