Hands off railway project, firm tells Mombasa officials

What you need to know:

  • Workers are said to have been roughed up.
  • Contractor protests against directive by leaders stopping work at Maganda in Jomvu.

A Chinese company has accused the Mombasa County Government of interference in the acquisition of land for the construction of the standard gauge railway.

China Road and Bridge Corporation (CRBC) told the county authorities to stop interfering with the project. The firm said the land had been handed over for the work by the National Land Commission, not the county government.

The company also protested against an incident last week in which its workers were allegedly harassed by county officials, including Governor Ali Hassan Joho and Lands Executive Francis Thoya.

In a statement from SGR Liaison and Cooperation Officer Julius Li, the company said it had the right to use the land for the project.

“Mombasa County Government officials on Wednesday served the employees of China Road and Bridge Corporation with a notice to stop work at a site that was being prepared for the construction of the Standard Gauge Railway,” says the statement.

According to the statement, some of the employees were roughed up by the county officials on grounds that they were at the site illegally.

LAND ACQUISITION

“The CRBC officials were at Maganda in Jomvu to start constructing the new railway. They had moved to the site after the National Land Commission, which is legally mandated to acquire land for the SGR, issued a letter, giving Kenya Railways Corporation and the contractor (CRBC) the right to have access to the land for railway construction,” says the statement.

The liaison and cooperation officer said there was documentation showing that the land acquisition was carried out within the law and in consultation with the landowners and the residents.

“CRBC, as the contractor, is not obliged to resettle the residents,” says the statement. CRBC said Kenya Railways was already implementing a resettlement plan.