By Shaban Omar
Tension is rising in Nikaphu Village, Lunga-Lunga in Kwale County, as some residents reject the government’s plan to allocate a quarter-acre to each household under the squatters’ settlement programme.
The residents, led by Ali Siaka Vuya, claim the distribution of the 270-acre parcel, which is expected to benefit 137 families, is being undertaken without adequate public participation and consultation.
Vuya said they fear the allocation process could be manipulated to favour individuals who are not the rightful beneficiaries of the programme.
“The whole affair is a total fraud. A quarter-acre is not enough for families like ours, which depend on farming and have many dependants,” he said.
He argued the land should be allocated based on the plots families have occupied and farmed for decades, saying they will not accept smaller portions.
He said the available land is sufficient to accommodate all the beneficiaries if it is allocated in a manner that reflects how the community has traditionally occupied and used it.
Vuya said the residents will with immediate effect dissolve the Nikaphu land settlement scheme committee and urged the government to call off the allocation exercise until their grievances are heard.
Another resident, Margarete Julius, termed the proposed allocation unfair, saying reducing families occupying and farming over five acres to a quarter-acre is a grave injustice.
She warned that the plan could sow seeds of resentment, conflict and division within the community, as some residents risk losing land they have occupied for years.
“Who will be happy when land that has always belonged to one family is allocated to someone else? This exercise will only create hatred among neighbours,” she said.
Julius urged the national government to intervene and ensure the allocation process is transparent, fair and takes into account the size of land each family has historically occupied and developed.
Ninety-year-old Kasim Mwafamau said the proposed allocation is inadequate for his family, noting that he has more than 12 children and numerous grandchildren who have depended on the land for generations.
Mwafamau said he has relied on farming for more than five decades and wants to retain the land his family has traditionally occupied instead of being allocated only a quarter-acre.
He claimed that he had previously lost part of his land and that, of the 12 acres he says remained, the settlement scheme now proposes to allocate him only a quarter-acre.
“I will not accept anything less than what I had. I want the government to hear our concerns,” he said.
The elderly resident said it was painful that despite being born and raised in the area, he was facing the prospect of receiving a small piece of land that he believes cannot sustain his large family.
Another resident, Halfan Kasim, said he had hoped to obtain a title deed to enable him to use the land as collateral to secure a loan for his four children who are pursuing university education.
He described the proposed quarter-acre allocation as a mockery, arguing that most families in the area are unemployed and depend almost entirely on farming for their livelihoods.
Kasim added that uncertainty surrounding the settlement scheme has left many residents distressed, saying the proposed allocation has caused widespread anxiety within the community.
