Now family wants court to order eviction of squatters

Mombasa; Kenya: About 10,000 squatters living on Mazrui land at Takaungu in Kilifi are facing an eviction after the family moved to court seeking orders to have all of them vacate the contested land parcel.

The suit paper in the case states the disputed land is 2,700 acres land, although most official records say the land measures 9,000 acres.

A representative of the Mazrui family, Salim Al Amin Suleiman Mazrui, in an affidavit filed in court in August, wants eleven squatters and others evicted from the huge farm in fulfillment of the July 2012 ruling that restored the huge land holdings to the Mazrui dynasty.

Despite the ruling that annulled attempts by the government to repeal an Act of Parliament by which the Mazruis owned the Takaungu farm, squatters remained on the land and there has been no attempt to evict them.

Suleiman insists the squatters on the land should vacate or give unconditional vacant possession without any failure. “The plaintiff prays from the honourable court for further order that all those persons who are not Mazruis residing on the said land be declared trespassers and an order of eviction be made against them,” said Sulieman.

He said despite having issued a demand notice to vacate the land, none of the defendants had left. Suleiman claims some squatters are carrying out illegal activities by constructing structures, quarrying and converting the land in question to other use without the authority of the Mazruis.Those sued are Salim Islam Bashamah, Swaleh Imu, Awadh Mohamed Awadh, DNL Acharya, Dr Njiri, Ali Suleiman and his family member Harith Suleiman. Others include Kazungu Pilau Chulo, Anzanzi Chakwe, Mohamed Sharif Omar, Juma Athman Kajogoo, Haidum Nabhan and others.

The move by the Mazrui family to seek orders to have the squatters on the land evicted has sparked fear and panic among the local communities who have developed the areas they occupy for over 50 years.

Among the properties set to be demolished if the Mazruis have their way include schools, shopping centres and other luxury homes worth hundreds of millions of shillings.

Guaranteed rights

Haidun Nabhan, who is being represented by Gikandi Ngibuini, is among those being claimed to be squatters despite having lived on the land for over 50 years.

According to documents filed in the High Court on August 8 this year, Suleiman’s lawyer Francis Kadima argues that his client’s rights to the land is guaranteed in Article 40 of the Constitution.

He says the land measuring 2,716 acres has been lawfully by the Mazrui family since 1914 and is managed by Mazrui Land Board of Trustees. Kadima wants all squatters evicted from the 2716 acres at Takaungu in Kilifi.

But Nabhan argues that there is no communality in matters of personal identification as each person has his own separate and distinct personality. Gikandi says the board of trustee has no legal basis to commence the eviction suit. He argues the purported acquisition of the suit property by Mazrui family in 1914 or thereabout is a nullity in that the land in question was alienated from the Miji Kenda community who have lived on it since time immemorial. “The issuance of a certificate of title to the said Mazrui family in 1914 by the then British Colonial Government was an act in perpetuation of impunity by the British Colonial Government who cunningly and unlawfully purported to gift the land to the Mazrui family as a bribe in return for political favour to the British Colonial Government whose modus operandi was divide and rule, an apartheid system of governing the country,”argues Gikandi

Nabhan argues that, after all he was also part of the Mazrui family, and there is no way Sulieman can lay claim over the land his family has occupied for over 60 years.

Gikandi insisted Mazrui family have wrongly sued Nabhan and asked the court to dismiss the case against him.