Kenyatta warned not to issue title deeds to Waitiki land squatters

The Mombasa County Government has cautioned President Uhuru Kenyatta against the move to issue title deeds to Waitiki land squatters before putting in place proper land demarcations.

Through County Lands Executive Anthony Njaramba, the county government stated that if the President goes on with the plan, the residents will never be able to apply for loans with the property as collateral. This, according to Njaramba, had already happened to former squatters of Mwakirunge and Ziwa la Ngombe areas.

This statement comes a month after President Uhuru Kenyatta entered into an agreement with the Waitiki Farm owner, Evanson Waitiki, to end the 16-year-old dispute.

Waitiki, who bought the land in 1975 at 1.2 million shillings from a businessman, surrendered it to the government to allow for its sub-division among the squatters.

In late November, a section of Mombasa leaders said they wanted Watiki’s compensation process suspended and the money allocated to other projects.

Speaking during a fund raising for a Muslim secondary in Mombasa on Sunday, Changamwe Member of Parliament Omar Mwinyi maintained that the money should be used to purchase new ferries for rather than pleasing one individual.

The leaders insisted that the money set aside by the government to compensate the land owner should be diverted to other development projects at the Coast.

Mwinyi’s statement came just a few days after President Uhuru Kenyatta resolved the controversy between Evans Kamau, also known as Waitiki, and other claimants of the parcel of land located in Likoni.

In a statement, President Kenyatta said that the government has signed a framework agreement with Waitiki to establish a road map for the adjudication and titling of all the land to current occupants.

“The land has been the subject of numerous litigation processes going back to 1997. Three previous government have considered the matter, without bringing it to a close,” stated President Kenyatta.

Evans Kamau is the owner of the 930-acre land which is valued at Ksh 9.3 billion and is said to have been purchased by the government to resettle squatters.