Ruto lands at the Coast with title deeds on a five-day whirlwind tour

President William Ruto lays the foundation for the Kinango modern market in Kwale County on May 21, 2026. [PCS]

President William Ruto kicked off a five-day tour of the Coast region on Thursday to woo voters ahead of next year’s General Election, even as he said that the united opposition lacked an agenda to beat him at the ballot.

He launched the distribution of 33,000 title deeds for the Coast region at his first function at the Mama Ngina Waterfront park in Mombasa and promised to dish out another 200,000 title deeds in the next 90 days in what he termed as his answer to the long-standing Coast land question.

Ruto said the government had negotiated with absentee landlords with a view to acquiring several parcels of land in Mombasa, Kilifi, Kwale, Taita Taveta, Tana River and Lamu counties to resettle squatters.

He said the negotiations are headed by Senate Speaker Amason Kingi and Cabinet Secretaries Hassan Joho and Salim Mvurya, who are working with the six governors in the region under the squatters’ resettlement programme.

“The issuance of title deeds is about restoring justice, dignity and economic opportunities to families,” he stated.

In Mombasa County, the team has negotiated for a parcel in Junda in Kisauni to settle 12,000 squatters and Kwa Punda in Changamwe to allocate to 8,500 squatters.

The President also said the government has engaged landlords at Kwa Bullo in Nyali and Aldina in Jomvu and assured squatters that they will be resettled.

In Kilifi County, Ruto said the government has engaged the owners of Shambani Farm at Msabaha to settle 11,000 squatters and targeted to acquire land at Ganda to resettle 9,000 squatters and Takaungu to resettle 2,000 squatters.

In Kwale, Ruto said the government will acquire land at Gasi for 3,000 squatters and at Gambato for 7,000 while talks have been initiated for the vast Machungwani farm in Taveta subcounty in Taita Taveta County.

Ruto said out of the 1.5 million title deeds issued by the government in the last three years, Coast received 381,000 documents, representing 25 per cent, and vowed to fix the squatters’ problem in his tenure.

“The broad-based government has brought unity and made it possible to successfully roll out the squatter resettlement programme,” he said.

Deputy President Kithure Kindiki said the President came to offer a solution to the Coast land question that several regimes failed to answer.

“I commend the team that has negotiated for the government to acquire several parcels to be allocated to squatters in this region,” he said.

Kingi claimed that the Coast squatters’ resettlement plan will stall unless residents re-elect President Ruto for a second term.

“This programme will run up to 2032, and it will be derailed if President Ruto does not win the next election. His win will be our success in the coast,” he noted.

Joho said many families living as squatters across the Coast region have endured sleeplessness for decades for fear of being evicted by landlords.

“We will not take this programme for granted because many families have had sleepless nights in this region and will now breathe a sigh of relief,” he said.

Mvurya said that the Coast land question has been neglected since independence.

Ruto also announced that the government has received a Sh50 billion loan from the African Export-Import Bank for the rollout of infrastructure for the Dongo Kungu Special Economic Zone (SEZ).

He also noted that construction of the Sh40 billion Vipingo SEZ in Kilifi County was also ongoing.

He noted that the Sh2.7 billion Shimoni Fish Port in Kwale County was ready and the government was looking for the operator.

He announced that the government will acquire a ferry for the Likoni crossing channel in Mombasa County by December this year and reopen the Mtongwe ferry service.

He said during the tour he will commission the construction of the Mombasa County Stadium at Sh1.4 billion and the construction of the Kilifi Stadium at another Sh1 billion.