Reprieve for Mombasa residents in land dispute

Residents of Bangladesh, Kwa Punda and Birikani slums in Mombasa got a reprieve yesterday after the Kenya Railways Corporation was restrained from granting possession of a parcel of land to a transport company.

Justice Anne Omollo of the Environment and Land Court issued conservatory orders retraining the Kenya Railways (KR) from granting possession of the unsurveyed land in Bangladesh to Sibed Transport Company Ltd pursuant to a purported lease agreement.

The judge also restrained the respondents from evicting the residents or interfering with the current use of the land, which is a playground for children and collection point for water distributed to the residents pending hearing and determination of an application.

Through lawyer Francis Mwakireti, Father Gabriel Dolan who has sued KR and the transport company on behalf of the slum residents, argue that the corporation denied the residents the right to acquire the land to secure their economic and social rights.

Mr Mwakireti argues in the application that the priest on behalf of the residents made a request in 2009 to KR for allocation of the land for building a secondary school.

According to the petitioner, KR rejected the request through a letter on grounds that the land had been sold.

“There has been interest and purported engagements between the county government of Mombasa and the Bangladesh community in respect of acquiring the land for purposes of establishing a high school” the application reads in part.

Mr Mwakireti further argues that in October 2018, Father Dolan found out that KR had leased the land to the transport company despite its contention in 2009 that the land had already been sold.

The lawyer argues that KR has acted without following the procedure as set out in the constitution, KRC Act and the State Corporation Act by failing to allocate the land to the residents who had a legitimate public interest.

The petitioner says that on October 8, the chief of Birikani sub location summoned some residents at the behest of the transport company to appear in her office on allegations of trespassing on the land demanding that they vacate the land.