Residents of Vipingo area in Kilifi county have filed a petition in court seeking orders to be granted 4200 acres of land which they claim was illegally allocated to Centum limited on a Saturday. The residents claim they were allocated title deeds by the lands Ministry after the expiry of the lease by the Vipingo sisal limited but to their surprise Centum limited came with another title claiming ownership of the same parcel of land. Led by Nicholas Mrima Wanyepe together with four members of the county assembly from the areas affected more than 200 residents held demonstrations outside the Malindi law courts demanding justice to be done by the court. They said in 2014 Centum limited acquired 10250 acres of land for their development which excluded their 4200 acres but they now claim the entire block of land which used to be owned by locals belong to them and they have land ownership documents. Speaking outside the Malindi law courts Wanyepe wondered why Centum limited claim the locals have grabbed his land yet it’s the locals who welcomed him in the area to begin the project in an area they have lived for ages.
He said as locals they did not grab land as they followed the lawful procedures of government and managed to process tittle deeds. “We did sub division which passed through the land control board, we are surprised this guy came recently, we welcomed him and now he claims we have taken over his land,” he said. He said they have filed the petition to get their rightful block of land and warned the investor that he risks losing even the bigger parcel of land that he acquired legally. Three years ago, he said the investor came to the Kilifi county government with a master plan which was approved without supporting documents. He said they were shocked to find out that the investor was claiming ownership of the entire sisal plantation when they begun the process of subdividing the 4200 acres. “The investor claims he has a tittle, we also have a tittle deed and we are the locals, so between him and us who is the rightful owner?’’he asked. Centum limited is a company that is developing a new city in Vipingo which is a mega project worth billions of shillings. Andrew Musangi the Centum company limited lawyer said the court has ruled that all parties should not interfere with each other until the case is determined. Musangi said it is true that they had a title of the same parcel of land and came to find out that the locals had another title deed which is what the court is expected to determine. However, he said due to the massive investments going on, they wanted the parties not to interfere with each other so as to avoid any losses. “The people who came to court are members of the local community who also wanted to understand what the situation should be pending the decision of the high court,’’ he said. He said all sides have agreed to wait for the court’s decision which is a positive move as there will be no interference on the ground between the parties.
For the locals who had turned up to court, they want to be given back their land which they claim was taken over by Vipingo sisal plantation investor many years ago. Johnstone Madzinimbigoa resident of Vipingo said it’s unfortunate that they have got an opportunity to be given back their land after decades of waiting from the sisal plantation investor who had evicted them to implement his sisal project. He said they were happy after the government set aside 4200 acres for the locals after the Vipingo sisal limited lease expired and even gave them tittles.‘’Who is Centum to claim that we have grabbed his land, between him and us how can we grab our own land he is the one who stole our land and we want it back, we do not know who sold it to him,’ he said.
Currently, he said, they are squatters in the area where they were settled to pave way for sisal plantation projects and want to go back to their original land. Danson Mwagambo Mwadzoya another resident said they want justice from the county government of Kilifi and the national government. He said it was sad that the foreign investor initially came and demolished their houses, trees and evicted them from their parcels of land leaving them to be poor. “We expected to be given back our land upon expiry of the lease but today we hear there is a person from upcountry who is taking over all the sisal plantation leaving the locals with nothing,’’ he said. Mwadzoya told Governor Amason Kingi and the national government to know that before the sisal plantation project there were people who were kicked out and want back their land. Mwalimu Rasi, chairman Chonyi council of elders called on the government to ensure that the locals get justice as they have waited for many years for the land. Rasi also warned investors to avoid intimidating the locals by continuously taking over land which belongs to the locals if they want their investments to be free for development.
“There are many investors and we will respect the ones that will respect us, I would urge Centum limited to stop the conflict and remain with their 102500 acres which is bigger than the one which was given to the locals,’’ he said. The members of county assembly present included Saidi Juma ofJunju ward, Kazungu Mbura from Chasimba ward his Mnarani counterpart Daniel Kitsao Charo and Humphrey Mkadi of Mwarakaya. Juma said the investor came to Vipingo in 2014 and after a stakeholders meeting, they said they had acquired 10, 254 acres and went ahead to place banners on the roads which were seen by the public. He wondered why the investor has changed and wants to take over the entire sisal plantation after the locals followed all the procedures to get their tittle deeds.” Today the visitors we welcomed in Kilifi county area want to take over even the 4200 acres of land. We have come to court so that we are given back our rightful parcel of land,’’ he said.