Salt Dispute in Magarini: Residents Call for Dialogue to Protect Jobs and Education

By Alex Kalama

A simmering land conflict in Magarini constituency is threatening the future of thousands of families who depend on the salt industry for survival.

Residents of Kanagoni and Kurawa have urged leaders and the community to embrace dialogue with Salt factories, warning that continued hostility could collapse businesses, destroy jobs, and derail education opportunities.

Local businesses say they are already feeling the pinch. Kadzo Karisa Wanje, a resident of Kanagoni, explained that her café thrives on truck drivers transporting salt from Kanagoni to Mombasa.

“Drivers eat in my place. I also benefit. If KEMSALT is shut down, many families will suffer. Let it continue to work,” she said.

The salt factory directly employs hundreds of workers and indirectly sustains livelihoods for food vendors, bodaboda riders, fish sellers, and landlords across Kanagoni, Marereni, Kadzuhoni, and Gongoni.

Residents fear that closure of the company would collapse this entire ecosystem.

Beyond jobs, KEMSALT has invested heavily in education. The company has already paid school fees for 114 students in national secondary schools and currently supports another 250 learners.

Plans to build a full school from Early Childhood Development (ECD) to secondary level were also underway but have been halted due to the dispute.

“The vision was good, but politics ruined it,” said former parliamentary candidate Furaha Chengo Ngumbao, popularly known as Kalama Wehu.

Speaking to the media, Chengo said frequent conflicts have been fueled by allegations that squatters occupy land legally leased to the salt investor.

He warned that such disputes risk jeopardizing investment and employment in Magarini.

“No land can have two different patents. Let’s stop fooling ourselves,” he said. “If the land rates are paid to the government, then the payer is the rightful owner.”

Chengo defended the investor’s legal position but urged the company to handle the matter with humanity compensating squatters or relocating them with dignity.

“If residents accept the truth, then compensation or displacement should follow-without chaos or violence,” he noted.

Magarini’s economy is fragile, heavily reliant on salt harvesting and sand-related activities. Chengo warned that hostility against investors could destabilize the region.

“When investors come, jobs follow. Businesses grow. Fighting investors is fighting our own future,” he said.

Residents echoed his concerns, noting that unemployment often breeds insecurity, leaving idle youth vulnerable to crime and gangs.

Chengo concluded by calling on residents and leaders to reject violence and embrace dialogue. “Problems are solved through discussion, not confrontation,” he said.

As tensions continue, voices from both leaders and residents highlight one clear path forward: peaceful coexistence, honest dialogue, and cooperation.

Without it, Magarini risks losing not only its salt industry but also its economic stability and the future of its children.