Sick Widow fears losing prime land despite NLC, court orders to restore ownership

A widow fears losing her five acres in Diani after land officials failed to comply with orders of a court and the National Land Commission (NLC) to issue her with title deeds.

Ms Mwanahamisi Idd Mwachanyuma, 65, has appealed to President Uhuru Kenyatta, Lands CS Farida Karoney and NLC to intervene, and ensure she is issued with title deeds for her two plots located along Diani Beach Road noting that wealthy people have invaded it.

The widow, who had earlier appeared before NLC, claimed influential people were now grabbing her land.

She said her father Idd Mwachanyuma, now deceased, occupied the land in 1950s and the Government allocated it to the family during the adjudication done in 1972 and 1985 but land officials failed to issue her with title deeds.

“I am poor and ailing and wealthy people are taking advantage of my situation to allocate themselves the land I inherited from my father. I am appealing for Government intervention,” Mwachanyuma told The Standard.

According to her, a man who rented her land through an agreement has already acquired a title deed.

She says there has been reluctance by land officials to act on orders of a Kwale court and the NLC since 2017.

A report of the NLC public hearing dated August 22, 2017, upheld the adjudication done in 1972 and 1985 that recognised the ancestral rights of the Mwachanyuma family as occupants of the land.

The report that was signed by former NLC chairman Muhammad Swazuri after a public hearing held at Kenya School of Government Matuga, also upheld the ruling of the Land District Tribunal vide claim number 32 of 2005 adopted as judgment of the Kwale Resident Magistrate’s court on December 7, 2006.

NLC also established that the property has been invaded by people who have built four permanent houses without her consent.