Scores left homeless after early morning demolitions in Kiifi

Property worth millions of shillings was destroyed when houses built on a disputed piece of land were demolished yesterday morning.

Police stood guard as a bulldozer started demolishing houses on the 50-acre piece of land at 5am. They were obeying a court order.

The squatters settled by the Government in 1997 have been battling in court with Pwani University, which claims to have acquired the land from the then Kilifi Institute of Agriculture in 2007.

The squatters, under the Mtaani-Kisumu Ndogo-Kibaoni extension settlement project, lost the case in April last year and an appeal they had lodged in December 2017.

Their chairman, Nelson Chai, faulted the eviction.

“We did not grab this land, we did not force ourselves here but followed the correct procedures. After losing the case for the second time we knew we would be evicted but they should have given us some time to demolish our houses ourselves. The timing was very wrong,” said Mr Chai

The chairman said he was summoned by the Kilifi North deputy county commissioner on Friday and shown the eviction notice.

“I saw the eviction notice on Friday. It is not humanly possible to get your things out and look for another place to live. We did not invade this land. I tried to talk to the DCC and the police to give us more time but they refused. Our property has been destroyed,” said Chai

He asked the Government to allocate the squatters alternative land and compensate them for their destroyed houses.

He claimed that former Coast PC Francis Baya settled the squatters on the land.

“We were shocked when Pwani University issued us with notice to move out while the Government had surveyed the land and issued allotment letters,” he said.

A valuation done last year placed the total cost of the houses at Sh80 million.

“The Government should resettle us on a plot with a similar acreage and give us money to rebuild our houses,” he said

The squatters accused the Government of not giving them enough time to vacate the land.

SHORT NOTICE

“We have no problem leaving this place, but they should have given us time to salvage our property. We were only given two days' notice. The rains are here and our houses have been demolished.

Where do we go from here? They are throwing us out without caring what our fate will be. We don’t know where we will go, or where our children will go,” said Yusuf Kalume,

The residents said the eviction would affect the learning of their children

“Where do we start now? The schools are re-opening today and we have nowhere to go. We have not paid school fees for our children. Do we look for school fees or a house to live? I cannot rent a room together with my children. The Government must come to our aid. We need to know where we are going from here,” said Salma Yusuf, a mother of eight.