Coast squatters await promised resettlement amid evictions

From left: Senate Speaker Amason Kingi, Sports CS Salim Mvurya and Mining CS Hassan Joho at a past function in Garsen, Tana River County. [Nehemiah Okwembah, Standard]

The Kenya Kwanza government has managed to sell the hope of rolling out a big land acquisition programme to formally resettle thousands of squatters across the Coast region yet, no parcels have been purchased to date.

With less than two years remaining in his first term, President William Ruto has yet to implement his land solution at the Coast, even as more squatters are either invading or being evicted from private farms in Mombasa, Kilifi, Kwale, and Taita Taveta counties.

During Mashujaa Day celebrations in Kwale County last year, President Ruto announced the creation of a team comprising Senate Speaker Amason Kingi and Cabinet Secretaries Hassan Joho and Salim Mvurya to work with the Lands Ministry in delivering the land promise to Coast squatters.

However, with ongoing evictions and increasing threats across the region, stakeholders in the land sector say the government’s silence and lack of a clear roadmap have caused widespread concern.

Kenya Land Alliance Coast regional coordinator Nagib Shamsan noted that although funds had been promised for resettlement, actual land acquisition may be delayed until the electioneering period, when it could be used to woo votes.

“We are concerned that the resettlement programme has stalled and there is silence. It might be delayed until election time, when the government will dangle the carrot over land issues to secure votes. No land has been acquired for squatters so far. We need updates from the steering committee and the Ministry of Lands, rather than squatters living on hope,” he said.

Shamsan decried the lack of transparency in the government’s plan to acquire land for squatters and called for public participation.

He also called for an audit of the title deeds that the president issued in Mombasa, arguing they are on settlement schemes dating back 30 years, and some were grabbed by wealthy people and politicians over the years.

Squatter hotspots include Kashani, Gandini, and Maunguja in Kisauni Subcounty, as well as Shikaadabu and Mtongwe in Likoni Subcounty, Mombasa County.

In Kilifi county, squatters are facing eviction in Kikambala and Uwanja wa Ndege in Kilifi town, while in Kwale county, hundreds of squatters were recently kicked out at night at Gasi in Msambweni subcounty. 

In Kilifi, an estimated 200,000 squatters live in the expansive Mazrui land at Takaungu, which has been at the centre of court battles for decades.

Last year, the government said that Sh1 billion had been set aside in the 2023/2024 budget to buy the disputed parcels like the 86.7-acre Kwa Bulo Farm in Nyali subcounty, Mombasa county, to settle the 10,000-odd squatters, but but no purchases have yet occurred.

Across all six Coast counties, hundreds of thousands of people remain affected. In Mombasa, about 15,000 families — roughly 100,000 residents — face eviction after disputes with landowners.

Absentee landlords

These parcels are registered to Liwalis (governors), with residents classified as tenants-at-will, who have built houses on land owned by the so-called absentee landlords.

A tenancy-at-will is a land tenure that can be terminated at any time by either the tenant or the landlord. It exists without a contract or lease and usually does not specify the duration of a tenant’s rental or exchange of payment.

Hundreds of squatters have also been displaced in Taveta and Voi subcounties, Taita Taveta County, following ownership conflicts. Some violent incidents have been linked to land disputes in Tana River and Lamu counties.

In Voi town, Taita Taveta, around 1,000 squatters remain on a disputed six-acre plot at Sofia Relini village, living in fear after more than 3,500 were evicted from nearby Msambweni, land belonging to Sparkle International Limited. Police from Voi, Mwatate, Taveta, and Wundanyi subcounties assisted with the operation.

Three years ago, over 3,000 squatters at Ndovuni in Maungu Township along the Nairobi-Mombasa highway were evicted after Kenya Wildlife Service secured a court order. The squatters are yet to be resettled.

Earlier this year, Kashani squatters’ spokeswoman Dama Katana expressed frustration with the government’s handling of squatter resettlement and historical land injustices in Mombasa. She blamed the Coast leadership for letting down squatters by remaining silent on the matter until election time.

“Our political leaders have let us down through inaction. They have failed to address historical land injustices in Mombasa and the region. We do not trust them,” she said.

Katana’s concerns reflect broader frustration across the Coast, a hotbed of historical land grievances.

In Mombasa, at least 4,000 squatters occupy 3,000 acres owned by Thathini Development Company. They face eviction unless they repurchase the land. Thathini parcels include Kashani MN/II/360, Gandini MN/II/829, and Maunguja MN/II/546, housing roughly 40,000 people.

In Kilifi, hundreds of thousands of squatters continue to live in uncertainty amid evictions and conflicts with landlords.

During the 2022 campaigns, President Ruto promised to buy large tracts of land from absentee landlords to resettle the landless.

“We were evicted with nothing but the clothes on our backs. But what has hurt us more than losing our homes is spending years chasing answers and receiving none,” said Sidi Nguta Nyamawi, a widow from Kilifi South sub-county.

Sidi is among hundreds of residents who claim they were forcefully removed from their ancestral land between 1985 and 1987, some by military units with no proper compensation or alternative settlements. Today, they live in poverty, trapped in a cycle of appeals and petitions amid unmet government promises.

During a recent Coast tour, President Ruto again pledged to acquire land, noting that Sh3.8 billion has been allocated for the programme. While issuing 800 title deeds for old resettlement schemes in Changamwe Subcounty, he assured squatters:

“The national government will work closely with the counties to ensure that squatters are resettled.”

On December 13, Senate Speaker Amason Kingi became the latest leader to promise Coast squatters that resettlement will be implemented soon.

Addressing mourners during the burial of nominated MP Joseph Denar at Mazeras High School grounds, Kingi assured Coast residents that the government will buy land every financial year to resettle squatters until the problem is resolved.

According to the Senate speaker, all six Coast governors have submitted the lists of parcels to be acquired by the government to resettle squatters to the Ministry of Lands, and President Ruto will announce the rollout of the resettlement programme when he visits the Coast region.

“All Coast governors have submitted lists of parcels to be acquired by the government to the Ministry of Lands. The president will announce which parcels will be purchased, and the squatter issue will eventually be resolved,” Kingi stated.

Meanwhile, Mijikenda elders have called for the inclusion of community representatives in the resettlement programme.

The kaya elders also called for the establishment of mechanisms to guarantee transparent and accountable use of the allocated budget for the acquisition of private land to settle squatters, with regular public disclosures to prevent misuse or diversion of resources.

In a letter to Coast governors dated January 13, this year, Mijikenda Kaya Elders Association (MKEA) secretary general Willie Tsuma and his Malindi District Cultural Association (Madca) counterpart lawyer Joseph Mwarandu said the resettlement process must prioritise the Mijikenda community, acknowledging their rightful claim as the indigenous custodians of the lands.

They said the process must respect the historical and cultural significance of the land, with meaningful consultation and input from the Mijikenda to ensure their heritage is preserved.

In the letter copied to the Ministry of Lands, National Land Commission, National Assembly Lands Committee, and the Senate Land Committee, the community elders demand that a multi-stakeholder approach be adopted to engage relevant community elders, cultural associations, and local leaders in shaping the resettlement process.

“We call for the immediate inclusion of representatives from the Mijikenda community, including officials from the squatters’ committee and cultural associations, in all decision-making bodies overseeing this resettlement process,” said the elders.

They issued the statement after Kingi and CSs Joho and Mvurya began meetings meant to kick off the resettlement process that was part of Kenya Kwanza’s 2022 general election pledges to squatters.

Kingi stressed that the parcels to be given priority are those where squatters are staying there and locals were being harassed by land owners to the extent of having court cases. 

“The priority will be those lands where squatters and landowners are in court, and the second priority is land with squatters but belongs to absentee landlords,” he said. 

He said the lists of parcels forwarded to the Lands Ministry will be fast-tracked by the president himself to address the squatter problem.