Planned demolition of Hobley estate leaves residents in panic

A general view of the Hobley Housing Estate in Mombasa, which the government issued vacated notice to the occupants to pave the way for the affordable housing project. At least 500 families of public servants who occupy the housing premises have until 1st of October 2024 to vacate them. [Robert Menza, Standard]

Since 2016, authorities in Mombasa have been in a race to roll out the ambitious urban renewal and redevelopment of old estates in a programme aimed to establish at least 30,000 housing units.

The investment through private investors and estimated at Sh200 billion has since put government employees, who mostly reside in the old estates, in a panic mode following a series of evictions and demolitions of the homes in prime locations.

Old houses at the Buxton, Mzizima, Changamwe and Likoni estates have been pulled down to pave the way for affordable housing projects amid protests by hundreds of tenants.

Only Buxton has been redeveloped under the affordable housing plan by Buxton Point Apartment at Sh6 billion. Mzizima, Changamwe, and Likoni projects remain dormant months after the demolition of the old houses.

Next in line is the Hobley Road estate, tucked between the Buxton estate and the Mombasa municipal stadium. Other estates targeted are Khadija, Nyerere, Tom Mboya, Tudor, Kaa Chanjo, Miritini, Kizingo, and Green Fields. 

Over 500 families of civil servants have up to October 1 to vacate the old houses, according to a notice from the government that plans to put up 1,500 affordable housing units and associated social infrastructure at the place.

Hobley Road estate tenants whose fate hangs in the balance contend that the decision to terminate their tenancies through the vacate notice was made arbitrarily, as they were not consulted through public participation.

Some of the residents said most of the houses have not been maintained by the government for years and they have been maintaining them.

“When I was allocated the house, it was in a deplorable condition and therefore spent at least Sh400,000 loans to make it habitable,” said one of the tenants who did not wish to be mentioned for fear of reprisal.

Another tenant noted that she recently renovated her house at a cost of Sh800,000 as it was leaking. They requested for compensation and an extension of tenancy at least up to May 1, 2025, due to the current economic hardship which they contend has also seen an increase in the property market in the coastal city.

“We have tried to engage the Housing department and even wrote a letter requesting compensation and extension but so far no communication from the committee,” added the tenant who said some of the occupants are at the level of a director in their respective ministries.

The distraught tenants have also noted that they have children in school sitting for examinations in October and the relocation will disrupt their school calendar.

“It’s also unfair that we are told to vacate the houses which we have been maintaining with our meagre earnings without any form of compensation to facilitate us finding alternate accommodation,” they noted.

They said the 522 tenants of the nearby Buxton Point were each compensated with Sh240,000 when a similar project took place three years ago and it was unfair to send them away empty-handed.

They also gave examples of Mzizima, Likoni and Changamwe estates, where occupants of either National or County government houses were compensated.

Commenting on the impending Hobley estate eviction, land activist Evans Momanyi said the Constitution provides for public participation and that the vacate notice contravenes fundamental rights and freedoms.

“It is distressing for the tenants to look for alternative accommodation in these tough economic times without compensation. Nobody has money and occupants might end up homeless,” said Momanyi.

In a letter addressed to the Mombasa county director of housing, the civil servants said they were not consulted over the impending demolition of the houses as there was no public participation.

“The issue of compensation is fundamental for the tenants to seek alternative accommodation. Some have stayed for over 20 years and have invested heavily in the maintenance of the houses,” they said.

Mombasa County director of housing Rodgers Wakhungu recently asked the government employees and their families to vacate the houses by October 1, this year, to allow for redevelopment of the estate.

Wakhungu said the county affordable housing and markets implementation committee meeting held on March 21, 2024, chaired by the Mombasa County Commission Mohamed N Hassan decided that the civil servants should vacate the estate and pave way for the project.