Lamu residents demand land taken for county headquarters

 

Lamu residents whose lands were acquired for the county headquarters at Mokowe want their land back for lack of compensation.

Fifty acres were acquired more than five years ago and the owners asked to vacate to pave way for construction as they awaited compensation. 

Speaking outside the Mokowe headquarters on Tuesday, the landowners threatened to hold demos next month to either push for compensation or their land back. 

In 2018, former National Land Commission chair Muhammad Swazuri identified 54 people who were directly affected by the project and pledged to have them compensated by January last year. 

Most families are living in abject poverty while waiting for the compensation.

Hadija Mbwana, a wife and mother of seven, says they have been putting up at her brother’s home with the hope that they will be able to purchase land and move once the compensation is paid.

“It’s embarrassing that I have become a burden to my brother yet he has his own issues to deal with. The plan was for us to move out the following year and buy our own land and build a home, Its been five years yet nothing has happened. I personally want my land back,” Mbwana said.