Intruders ordered out of Kilifi's 3,000-acre estate
Lands CS Jacob Kaimenyi (left), National Land Commission chairman Mohammed Swazuri (centre) and Mombasa County Commissioner Nelson Marwa during a meeting over ongoing allocation of plots at the Waitiki land on December 7, 2015. PHOTO | KEVIN ODIT | NATION MEDIA GROUP
What you need to know:
Earlier, one of the said owners of the property, Mr Christopher Wilson, said those who had invaded the land, which belongs to Kilifi Plantations Ltd, were not squatters as had been reported in the media.
Mr Wilson said the 400-acre parcel locals are claiming is part of the 3,000 acres.
Villagers who invaded and started subdividing a controversial piece of land in Kilifi County were on Tuesday ordered by police to leave or be kicked out.
This came as the National Land Commission condemned the intruders who invaded the 3,000 acres, which have been at the centre of a dispute between locals and the owners.
“These are criminals and we cannot allow this to happen as the owners have a freehold title. So the land belongs to them,” commission chairperson Muhammad Swazuri told the Nation Tuesday.
The invaders occupied the land at Ihaleni near Mavueni trading centre on Saturday and started subdividing it, claiming it belonged to them.
Area OCPD Joshua ole Leina warned: “That (invasion) amounts to trespassing on private property and whoever does that will face the full force of the law.”
Mr Leina said he had talked to officials of an association representing the invaders and directed them to leave.
“We have asked them to move out of the land because it is still awaiting the National Land Commission’s verdict over matters raised in March. Until the verdict is out, we still treat the land as private property and we shall not allow people to invade it,” he said.
Earlier, one of the said owners of the property, Mr Christopher Wilson, said those who had invaded the land, which belongs to Kilifi Plantations Ltd, were not squatters as had been reported in the media.
“These are not squatters, I can only call them criminals who walked into the land and invaded it”, he said in an interview in Nairobi where he made it clear that no single person has been squatting on the land.
However, Dr Swazuri said the commission presided over the dispute, but denied that they were supposed to deliver a verdict.
“What we agreed is that we negotiate with the owners and see if they can agree to surrender a portion of the land to the locals. If they don’t agree, there is nothing we can do because the land belongs to them,” the chairman said and warned locals against invading the private property again.
Mr Wilson said the 400-acre parcel locals are claiming is part of the 3,000 acres.
