Coast regional coordinator Nelson Marwa has been summoned by the Mombasa assembly to explain why he ordered demolition of houses around Moi International Airport.
Reached for comment, Marwa said: “Ugh! They are calling me on that?” He hang up.
The assembly says only the county has power to evict the 15,000 people. It calls the move a plan to reduce the number of voters in an ODM zone. The state says the area can harbour terrorists and the national governnmet is responsible for security.
Marwa has been given two weeks to present himself or face legal sanctions.
One ward representative said Marwa is a “Jubilee sycophant who should be taught a lifetime lesson and forced to know Mombasa has it owners”.
The police boss ordered the demolition of structures in Airport ward after claims they were a security threat.
There is a tug of war among MCAs as some, labelled rebels, warned their colleagues to stop poking their noses in security matters.
Led by Jabez Oduor (Kongowea), the MCAs said their colleagues should let Marwa do his work free from interference.
Marwa, who spoke during the inauguration of the Nyali subcounty on Tuesday, said he will not relent until the structures near the airport fence are pulled down.
They include schools, mosques, garages and rental houses.
Speaker Thadius Rajwayi told Lands Committee chair Saad Faraj it is within his power to summon Marwa for “meddling in matters that are not within his jurisdiction”.
Marwa, through the county Security Intelligence committee, ordered the demolition in a letter to National Land Commission chairman Mohamed Swazuri dated November 18 last year.
He said the continued inhabitation and mushrooming of structures adjacent to the airport makes it prone to terror attacks.
But some ward representatives say the police boss’s order was politically instigated.
“After Marwa, Marwa will be the next to be summoned before the house to explain why he wants the houses of poor residents demolished will be Swazuri,” Faraj said on Tuesday.
The assembly directive is expected to fuel the protracted feud between the national and county governments.
“He wants residents to be evicted so they do not vote in 2017. He knows very well the area is an ODM zone,” Airport ward MCA Rashid Mswabah said.
Mswabah, who brought the demolition statement before the house, said Marwa is being used by the national government to frustrate county leaders. Rajwayi said the concerns raised by Marwa are grievous.
“He [Marwa] claims there were some title deeds issued irregularly. Who issued them? Find out if indeed there is mushrooming of houses as alleged,” he said.
On Tuesday, 12 MCAs, led by deputy speaker Mswabah Rashid, said they will protest against the planned eviction of the more than 15,000 residents.
“Marwa has clearly violated Schedule Four, Part Two of the constitution which clearly mandates the county government as the only organ charged with county planning and development,” he said.
