Stage set for renewed land politics after Ruto announces plan to resettle squatters in Coast Region

Stage is set for a renewed wave of the emotive land politics after President William Ruto said the government will purchase land from absentee landlords to resettle squatters in the larger Coastal region.

Speaking at the funeral service of Senate Speaker Amason Kingi’s father, Mzee Kingi Mwaruwa Mkweha, in Kamale, Magarini constituency, Kilifi county, the pesident tasked the Senate Speaker and Cabinet Secretaries Alice Wahome (Lands, Housing and Urban Development), Hassan Joho (Mining) and Salim Mvurya (Sports) with identifying and vetting genuine absentee landlords for compensation.

“We have made progress, and we now have money to pay off these absentee landlords,” said the president.

The land question has been an emotive issue in the country particularly in the Coastal region where some absentee landlords legitimately own huge tracks of land and some have grabbed government and community land.

It is also a recurrent phenomenon and mostly capitalised by politicians in every election season as a bait to woe voters but immediately dies off after the electioneering period.

After winning elections and inciting locals to invade private land under the guise of ancestral property, the owners always come out to reclaim their plots.

For example, in 2022, the Methodist Church of Kenya came out in Mombasa to reclaim its 210 acres in Ganahola, Jomvu constituency, where over 1,000 families have refused to leave, claiming it is their ancestral land.

Yesterday, the president explained that this is the first step in addressing the historical land issues that have plagued the region for centuries, leaving thousands without essential ownership documents.

“It will not be completed in one or two years, but we will deliver on our promise to largely resolve the squatter problem at the Coast,” the president noted.

Furthermore, he assured squatters in the county that the government is working to resolve ownership disputes over African Development Corporation (ADC) land in Magarini and promised that title deeds would be issued later in the year.

Also present were Deputy President Kithure Kindiki, Prime Cabinet Secretary Musalia Mudavadi, and Governors Gideon Mung’aro (Kilifi), Issa Timamy (Lamu), and Abdulswamad Shariff (Mombasa), along with National Assembly Speaker Moses Wetang’ula.

Next week, the president will embark on a week-long tour of development projects in the Coast counties of Lamu, Tana River, Kwale, Kilifi, Mombasa, and Taita-Taveta.

He reiterated his commitment to fair and equitable development across all regions of the country.

“I am committed and unapologetic in making sure that there is equity in the Republic of Kenya,” he pointed out.

He announced that all Kenyans would undergo the same vetting process for national identification documents, thereby ending decades of discrimination against those living along the country’s borders, including in Kilifi.

Regarding electricity connectivity, President Ruto revealed that Kilifi county would receive Sh2billion from the Sh10billion initiative launched earlier in the week to expand access to power in 14 marginalised counties.

He added that the Rabai-Bomani-Kilifi transmission line, initiated last year, is expected to be completed by June 2025.

Additionally, he reported that the Kilifi-Weru-Malindi transmission line, being constructed at a cost of Sh9billion, is progressing well.

These two power lines will provide sufficient and reliable energy to the county, enabling industrial growth, boosting business, and creating jobs.

On infrastructure, the President noted that the Sh2.1billion Baricho bridge, linking Malindi and Magarini, is 98 per cent complete and will be commissioned soon.

“We should all be treated equally. I am shocked that there are people who are angry at this move,” he added.