Hundreds of Mombasa residents face eviction over land dispute

By Philip Mwakio

Hundreds of Mombasa residents could lose their houses. Owners of the land they built homes on obtained court orders allowing them to auction the buildings.

The development comes after the residents refused to pay rent to the landowners following alleged "instigation by the Government".

The alleged absentee landlords claim they have evidence they own the land, and the squatters must pay ground rent or risk having their houses auctioned in default.

The squatters, on the other hand, claim the auction is illegal, because they were acting on a Government directive to suspend payment of ground rent until the legal status of rent collectors was ascertained.

A Mombasa-based firm, Kinyua and Company Auctioneers, has been hired by the landlords to carry out the exercise.

Owners with houses on the disputed plot have vowed to stay put and resist eviction.

They argue that the auctioning process was in contravention of a directive by the Ministry of Lands banning payment of land rent.

Rent was put on hold until the Government completes an exercise to identify owners of the land in dispute before coming up with a lasting solution.

Former Assistant minister and local MP Anania Mwaboza termed the move to auction the houses "illegal".