1,300 Squatters in Malindi Receive Tittle Deeds

By Charo Banda

Email, thecoastnewspaper@gmail.com

More than 1,300 squatter families in Ganda ward of Malindi Subcounty in Kilifi County have gotten a sigh of relief after their 12 year battle to own land finally happened with issuance of a title deed.

The families residing on a 327.8 acre piece of land had been embroiled in a fierce court battle against alleged absentee landlords, but they eventually received justice after the court said them as the real owners having resided on the land for more than 20 years.

During a ceremony to award the mother title deed to the families at Mtakatieni village in Kijiwetanga area, the residents could not hold back their joy saying that the lack of ownership documents gave them sleepless nights until they were urged to seek adverse possession through the courts.

“We had been living in constant fear of eviction and harassment on plot number 333 Matakatieni since alleged land owners used to come and threaten us sometimes using the police, but we joined hands and formed the Mtakatieni Kijiwetanga Community Based Organization (CBO) as advised by professionals and local leaders and through that, we found a lawyer and moved to court.”

The battle has not been easy but eventually we have the mother title,” said the CBO chairman Fani Randani.

He added that it was not an easy task as members had to contribute funds for the court process and lawyers’ fees over the period they were in court and also other expenses such as funds for carrying out searches, transport to ministry of lands offices in Mombasa and Nairobi.

“Some of us are struggling financially and because we had a mission, we did not force members to contribute and everyone gave what they could afford. We approached our elected and non-elected leaders who also stood with us one of them being our Ganda ward Member of County Assembly (MCA) Oscar Wanje who eventually took upon the matter and has brought us the mother title,” he added.

Randani said that they were now in the process of doing subdivision of the land so that each and every family could get their individual title deeds.

“Mr Wanje has taken over the matter and he has already brought us surveyors who are doing the mapping in readiness for sub division. I only urge my members to cooperate so that the subdivision process runs smoothly and in the shortest time possible,” he said.

The chairman said that having gone through an adverse possession process under the law, he was confident that many squatters in Malindi had a chance of owning land if only they embraced the idea and moved to court.

“Our MCA has also tabled a motion at the Kilifi County Assembly that seeks to have Kilifi County establish a squatter land resettlement fund under the law so that squatters can be issued land ownership documents without fundraising for the court and other processes.

I challenge people struggling to get land ownership on disputed land to embrace adverse possession because it is the only lawful way of owning land,” he said.

Wanje on his part said that establishment of the squatter resettlement fund in the county will supplement what the national government was doing by purchasing land from absentee landlords and resettling squatters.

“The law is there in Cap 22, section 13/17 and it has elaborated that people can apply for adverse possession and compel the courts to hand you ownership of the land you’ve lived in for more than 12 years. Sometimes you find alleged owners of parcels of land invaded by squatters are ready to sell the land but the squatters have no money to buy it and if the squatter resettlement fund is established in Kilifi County, the funds will be used to buy that land since the national government alone can’t buy all the land,” he said.

He added that, “We have more than 1,300 families registered in the Mtakatieni/ Kijiwetanga CBO and if you elaborate further, you find that these are more than 5,000 people who have successfully graduated form the squatter syndrome and they will now own land legally. The problem of squatters in this area is also linked to politics where elected leaders exhibit their selfishness instead of helping resolve the squatter problem.”

During his recent visit to Kilifi County, President William Ruto announced that his administration had set aside Sh3 billion to purchase land to settle squatters.