Mombasa, KENYA: Mombasa County has warned of cartels selling public and private land illegally.
County Executive for Lands, Francis Thoya, said unscrupulous individuals have teamed up with elders to sell land to unsuspecting buyers for as low as Sh10,000. He warned the public against purchasing such pieces of land, which the county government was yet to clear for subdivision.
“The cartels are taking advantage of the high demand to sell land to unsuspecting persons. Where on earth will you get land at Sh10,000?” he posed.
Speaking at a security meeting, Mr Thoya said failure to evict squatters living in Waitiki Farm and on county land, had made some residents invade public and private land with the hope that they will be compensated.
“The county government, the National Lands Commission and the office of the County Commissioner are seeking ways to resettle genuine squatters. We will not allow anyone to pile more problems,” said Thoya.
READ MORE
Against the Tide: Karua's journey of becoming 'Iron lady'
Why Engin Firat was not the right man for Harambee Stars
County Commissioner Nelson Marwa, warned people invading public and private land in Mombasa County with the intention to benefit from the government’s resettlement programme that they will be evicted.
Invading public, private land
Mr Marwa said stern action will be taken against persons who have invaded public and private land in Jomvu, Miritini, Kisauni and Shelly Beach in Likoni.
The County Commissioner who chairs County Security Committee, has in the past, opposed eviction of squatters in Kwa Bulo, Dunga Unuse and Waitiki Farm, arguing that this could heighten insecurity.
Waitiki Farm in Likoni has more than 120,000 squatters.
At the same time, Marwa has claimed that some traffic police officers manning the Nyali Bridge in Nyali and Shika Adabu area in Likoni are extorting motorists.
“I want this madness to stop immediately as it is a disgrace and tarnishing the name of other hardworking officers. There is no need to transfer a thief from Nyali to Mandera. There will be no transfers this time, once you are caught taking bribes, you will go home,” he warned.
The commissioner further said that some traffic officers manning road blocks allegedly extort money from motorists who flout traffic rules and let criminals pass.
He said that the officers allegedly harass old women and their daughters who board ‘tuk tuks’ while from the market or headed to hospitals in the pretext of checking identity cards.
Extort money
Marwa blamed the officers for traffic snarl up as they stop vehicles in the middle of the road to allegedly extort money from motorists.
“Some of the officers stop cars in the middle of the road and put both their hands and head into the car not caring if their guns are safe,” said Marwa.
Mombasa Traffic Commandant Martin Kariuki, urged road users to observe traffic rules during the festive season.
He said all roads in and out of the county will experience heavy traffic as visitors come in from upcountry.
“We are expecting heavy traffic this festive season as most of the business people try to clear off their cargo from the port during the festive season, not forgetting the visitors from upcountry,” said Mr Kariuki.
He added that they have deployed more traffic officers from Kilifi and Kwale, and trained marshals to offer reinforcement and ensure easy traffic flow.
