Thousands of squatters along the Coast face prolonged waits for government resettlement as no funds were allocated for this initiative. During a regional tour, President William Ruto stated the government had set aside Sh1.5 billion for the exercise and tasked county governors with identifying land.

The President assigned Mining, Blue Economy and Maritime Affairs Cabinet Secretary Hassan Joho to lead the process.

However, the Senate Land, Environment, and National Resources Committee revealed the government had not allocated funds to purchase land.

Committee chairman and Mombasa Senator Mohamed Faki noted the latest supplementary budget contained no provisions for acquiring squatter settlement land.

He spoke after the committee and National Land Commission (NLC) heard petitions from tenants-at-will and squatters at the Kenya School of Government in Mombasa County seeking regularisation of their status.

“You mentioned Sh1.5 billion set aside to buy land for squatters. Yet the supplementary budget shows no such allocation. These remain verbal statements,” Faki said.

Present were Senators Joe Nyutu, Mariam Omar, Miraj Abdillahi, and NLC commissioner Prof James Tuitoek. Petitions came from Mwembe Kuku and Bondeni tenants-at-will, the 4,300-acre Thatini Land Development Company in Kisauni, and Waitiki Farm, among others.

Waitiki Farm squatters noted only 376 of 930 government-purchased acres had been used for resettlement.

Faki announced a Senate investigation into Waitiki Farm irregularities, where the government spent over Sh2 billion in taxpayer fund

He instructed NLC chairman Gershom Otachi to halt land transactions pending petition resolutions.

Mombasa Mayor Rajab Sumba warned against absentee landlords selling disputed Mwembe Kuku and Bondeni land where residents have built homes, cautioning this could spark violence.

“The Senate must mediate between claimants and residents to prevent bloodshed, as sales are currently ongoing,” he said.

Landlords demand Sh4 to 10 million per plot and have issued eviction notices to unauthorised builders.

Faki said the committee would summon absentee landlords (including descendants of former Mombasa Liwalis in Oman) and the Lands Cabinet Secretary to clarify disputes.

He insisted those evicting squatters must provide alternative settlement land and requested the Interior Cabinet Secretary to halt evictions until petitions are resolved.

Faki told the NLC to complete 56 cases of historical land injustices before the current commissioners leave in the next seven months.

Otachi stated that they would have addressed historical land injustices, but their efforts have been hindered by a lack of funding.

“We have limited budget allocations, hindering our ability to complete historical injustice hearings,” said Otachi.