National Land Commission orders squatters to vacate Kisauni private land

National Land Commission chairman Mohammed Swazuri

The fate of over 1,500 squatters hangs in the balance after they were ordered to vacant land in Kisauni, Mombasa.

The National Land Commission ordered the squatters to vacate three parcels of land that are private property.

But the order met resistance from land rights activists who said the commission has no right to intervene in the private ownership dispute.

They said the directive had sparked fears and tension between the land owners and the squatters.

The affected families include 800 residing on the ZumZum land, 527 on Lamkani and 350 at Barawa farm.

Kenya Land Alliance Coast Co-ordinator Nagib Shamsan said the vetting of title deeds and declaration of the genuine owners should have been done by the Land and Environment Court and not the Land commission.

Mr Shamsan said the impending evictions should be forestalled as it would spell doom for many families at the Coast.

He called for the enactment of legislation to address the plight of thousands of squatters at the Coast particularly those living on land formerly acquired in a questionable manner.

"There is also need to facilitate the squatters to buy the land they occupy instead of evicting them, and to heavily tax idle land," Shamsan said.

He said it was better to adopt the Waitiki land acquisition model where squatters were asked by the Government to buy the 930-acre farm.

Squatters Chairman Chidzaya Ndegwa wants President Uhuru Kenyatta to use the Waitiki farm model in Likoni and negotiate with the private owner in order to resolve the matter amicably.

"We have settled on that ancestral land for many years and do not have anywhere to go. We appeal to the Government to stop eviction plans and instead facilitate consultations with those claiming ownership of the disputed land for an amicable solution," Mr Ndegwa said.