By Alloys Musyoka

The legal showdown over the Ksh18 billion Likoni–Ukunda–Lunga Lunga (A7) Highway expansion has escalated sharply as landowners formally sued the state to halt an imminent eviction order.

Law firm Mogaka Bwong’aki & Company Advocates has filed an urgent Chamber Summons application at the Environment and Land Court at Kwale seeking to freeze the sweeping 30-day eviction notice issued by the Kenya National Highways Authority (KeNHA).

The lawsuit was filed on behalf of lead applicants Haruni Mohamed Kingunge, Mary Syevutha Peter, Zawaridi Rashid Barua, and Mohamed Bakar Mayuo, who represent 130 Project Affected Persons (PAPs) along the coastal travel route.

The Race Against the October 29 Deadline

The application, filed under a strict Certificate of Urgency, warns that permanent residences, businesses, and multi-generational family livelihoods will be permanently flattened if the court does not issue an emergency freeze.

KeNHA’s blanket eviction deadline is set to expire on Thursday, October 29, 2026, with demolitions scheduled to commence immediately upon expiration.

The affected residents says that KeNHA contractors have already entered their private lands without permission, placing road alignment beacons up to 40 meters deep into validly titled plots which exceeds the legally gazetted 60-meter road reserve width (30 meters from the centerline).

Complete Due Process Failure Alleged

The petition takes aim at the National Land Commission (1st Respondent), accusing the state agency of a total failure of constitutional and statutory due process.

The land owners state that the NLC has completely failed to execute its legal mandates under the Land Act, which require the commission to: Publish an official Notice of Intention to Acquire the lands, conduct a formal Section 112 Land Acquisition Inquiry, execute independent property valuations and award prompt, full, and just financial compensation before anyone is moved.

"The state is attempting an unlawful compulsory acquisition of land without public participation or prior compensation," stated advocate Mogaka Bwong'aki in the court documents. "Without a conservatory order to preserve the properties, any subsequent judgment in this suit will be rendered empty and academic."

Survey Report Exposes Beacon Inconsistencies

The lawsuit is strongly backed by an independent land survey verification report conducted along the Ukunda–Msambweni corridor by Geomatics Consulting Limited.

The findings heavily undermine KeNHA’s claims of encroachment. Out of 23 existing road alignment beacons measured by licensed surveyors, only six beacons (26.1%) accurately matched the standard 60-meter road width. The remaining 17 beacons showed extreme discrepancies, exceeding the legal road width by up to 21 meters. The report concludes that the critical variations indicate that the state authority's markings are deeply inconsistent and incorrectly positioned.

The land registry documents annexed to the petition verify that the affected residents hold clear and clean Title Deeds issued under the Land Registration Act, with some dating as far back as 1982. The High Court is expected to rule on whether to grant the temporary injunction before the countdown to demolition expires next week.

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