Compensation: Villagers demand bypass money

A section of residents in three villages in Kinango are demanding a share of the Dongo Kundu bypass compensation.

The villagers said they have been displaced by construction of phase two of the bypass and ought to be paid.

The road, whose first phase of Sh11 billion has been completed, includes a series of roads and bridges linking Mombasa West to the South Coast in Kwale County.

Villagers led by Hamisi Tsuma Mwero said the multi-billion shilling road infrastructure project has displaced them from their ancestral land yet they have not been compensated.

They lamented that their efforts to secure compensation were being frustrated by demands that they produce land ownership documents which they do not have despite living in the area for decades.

Key benefits

The villagers said they are not opposed to the project but are simply seeking to be included in any compensation package by the National Government.

“We are aware of the benefits of the project and are in support of it, but our main concern is delayed compensation and lack of representation of our community interests,” he said.

Mwero said villagers in Mwamdudu, Chongongwe and Kasemeni areas eke out a living through subsistence farming but their land had been hived off for the road project.

Another elder, Joel Mwanyiro, said land cartels were frustrating efforts by the villagers to get compensation through the National Land Commission (NLC).

Kenya National Highway Authority (Kenha)’s Coast Regional Director Jared Makori said payouts are being handled by NLC which has a list of the beneficiaries.