Houses on disputed Utange land demolished, 30 families homeless

A group of about 10 people armed with crude weapons demolished and torched houses on a disputed piece of land in Utange, Mombasa County, on Tuesday.
A party in the dispute said at least 30 families were left homeless following the demolitions on the 4.5 acre property.
COURT ORDER
The battle is between a Mr Omar Munga and Bulkon Builders Limited, according to court documents seen by the Nation.
“The order we obtained is very clear ... that nothing should be done on this land. We were shocked to see police officers supervise youths in demolishing our houses yet they are the ones asked by the court to protect us,” he said.
Mr Munga, who lived with members of his family on the land, said their structures were demolished despite a court order.
According to the order from the Environment and Land Court of Mombasa, defendants including Bulkon Builders, the Kisauni Deputy County Commissioner, the OCPD and the OCS were to ensure no interference until the matter is determined.
“The OCS Bamburi Police Station is hereby ordered to enforce these orders and restrain and/or prevent any other person from wrongfully entering and/or demolishing and/or trespassing and/or continuing to harass or interfering with the plaintiff/applicants (Mr Munga) of plot No. 322/I/MN, pending the hearing and determination of this application and the main suit,” states the order dated August 17.
Mr Munga claimed that despite confirming receipt, none of the defendants had filed a response and served them for the hearing to begin.
The order paper seen by the Nation showed that the offices of the deputy commissioner, OCPD and OCS received the letter. There was no stamp of receipt by Bulkon Builders.
'NO POLICE'
Speaking in an interview with the Nation at his offices in Bamburi, Deputy Commissioner Kipchumba Rutto denied police involvement in the demolitions.
He said he was aware of the dispute.
"There is a court order which we have respected. None of our police officers was on that land,” said Mr Rutto. “The court must be respected by all means. Each party must adhere to the directions of the court."
He confirmed reports of the presence of hired goons and said investigations were launched.
Mr Rutto, who is also the sub-county security chairman, said they have grappled with several land ownership cases, matters that he termed sensitive and requiring proper strategies.
“We have resolve some cases and are pursuing others. We are hopeful that we will manage to crack the remaining ones," he said.
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