Clan receives cash for airport land

The Government will now have a free hand in expanding Kisumu airport with the start of the final phase of compensation for people who were evicted from the land.

But the Kenya Airports Authority (KAA) deputy managing director, Mr Matthew Wamalwa warned that the money will not the given to individuals without the full knowledge of their family members.

This was to ensure that every member of the family benefits from the funds.

“Sit down as a family to discuss among yourselves over what you want to do with the money, to avoid conflicts later on,” he told members of the Kogony clan, who have contested the airport’s planned expansion without payment for their land.

The dispute over the compensation has been outstanding for long and two months ago threatened to disrupt expansion work currently under way at the airport.

The community compensation claims date back to 1946 for land blocks A, B, C, D, and E, together with disturbance allowance of 15 per cent.

Mr Wamalwa told the Kogony clan that KAA wished to settle that matter once and for all to give it a free hand to carry on with the expansion.

The KAA official was speaking during a one-day sensitisation seminar on the forthcoming compensation, with the affected families in Kisumu.

KAA invited a team of financial experts from the Kenya Commercial Bank to train the families on the investment opportunities available to them with the compensation.

At the same time, Mr Wamalwa said that KAA had identified a 10-hectare piece of land for Usoma primary school, which has been at the centre of the tussle between the community and the Government.

The school is on land set aside by KAA for the expansion of the airport.

The reconstruction and expansion programme of Kisumu Airport has already started and will cost Sh2.6 billion. It is being carried out by the China Overseas Engineering Group Corporation.

Upon completion, the airport will be opened up to direct international flights and will likely improve trade and investment in the western region.

“After the expansion, we will have bigger aircraft coming in directly from Europe and the Middle East,” said Mr Wamalwa.

An official of the Chinese construction firm also said that the extension of the runway would start in two weeks.

The runway will be extended by three kilometres and its surface will be revamped.