By The Weekly Vision Reporter
Busia Senator Okiya Omtatah has raised concern over the long-standing and escalating land dispute between the Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) and previous landowners in the Mariakani and Tsangatsini locations of Kilifi County. The land in question, registered as parcel number CR 73754/26010 in Kaloleni Sub-County, was earmarked by the government in the 1980s for the construction of an army barracks.
At the time, according to Omtatah, the government promised to compensate and relocate the affected families to Magarini Constituency, where they would receive both land and a government-built house.
However, the initial compensation offered was paltry, ranging only between KSh 500 and KSh 2,000, and it remained a partial payment. For 40 years, the affected families have continued to live on the land, but their lives remain suspended due to the unfulfilled promise of relocation and full compensation.
Senator Omtatah told the House that these families have faced constant threats of displacement, prohibitions against putting up permanent structures, and even restrictions preventing them from burying their deceased relatives on ancestral ground.
He noted that the KDF has issued an ultimatum requiring the families to vacate the land without consultation and without any concrete arrangements for compensation or resettlement.
Requesting a statement from the Standing Committee on Land, Environment and Natural Resources on Tuesday, 2 December, Omtatah asked the committee to conduct an inquiry into the historical ownership of the land and whether the acquisition process followed due legal procedure.
He further tasked the committee with explaining the reasons behind the government’s decades-long failure to fulfil its pledge to relocate and fully compensate the previous owners in Magarini Constituency.
“The Lands Committee should find out whether it’s possible to rescind KDF’s ultimatum, allowing the families to remain on the land without harassment or undue restrictions until they are fully and fairly compensated,” Omtatah submitted.
