For decades plans to expand the Malindi International Airport have been delayed for what stakeholders now  blame the slow process for dwindling tourism fortunes in Kilifi County. 

The Airport is strategically located and could be a major economic giant for the country if complete, as it gives the modern day traveller an opportunity to land and reach the destination in less than 10 minutes.

However, delay in compensating squatters and land owners has slowed down the process of expansion.

It has also forced the affected families to move to court to push for fast tracking of the process.

 Phase one acquisition process was completed in 2017 where more than 189 residents of Kwa Chocha area received Sh. 400 million compensation for structures.

On the other hand, phase 2 which entails compensation for the land is facing challenges as land grabbers have allegedly infiltrated the process and emerged with ‘title deeds’.

In the latest court ruling, the National Land Commission (NLC) was directed to hasten the compensation process and is in the process of verifying the title deeds and land ownership in the affected area. 

The chairman of Kwa Chocha residents Safari Kitsao said some individuals who had already sold land and vacated the area were now trooping back to claim the parcels they had sold just for compensation purposes and they were the ones bringing confusion to the process.

“Some unknown individuals have also appeared with title deeds in company names yet they cannot physically identify the parcels they claim,” he said.

Kitsao said in one scenario, they sold someone a plot measuring 100 metres by 100 meters and he sold 100 meters by 50 meters to someone else but that person was now claiming that land again.

“It is for that reason that some of the people refused to be vetted by us because they know how they bought and resold the land,” he said. 

The Chairman said the land is 74 acres and that they carried out valuation through the services of a private valuer who indicated that they were entitled to be compensated Sh. 1,880,000,000 with each acre fetching Ksh 25 million. 

He said their private valuer, Milestone Land Access Limited released the valuation report on February 20 2024 indicating that they were to be paid more than Sh. 1.8 billion for the 74 acres.

“However, NLC has downplayed the figure and wants to carry out their own valuation,” he said.

Patience Nyale who had stayed on the land for twelve years prior to the compensation of structures in 2017 said that NLC had promised to follow up with quick compensation for the land but it has been nine years since that promise was made forcing them to move to court in 2022.

The Environment and Land court in Malindi would rule in their favour ordering the Kenya Airports Authority (KAA) to compensate landowners before Adani could take over.

“When we were first compensated for structures, we were told that within days we will get compensation for land but we are still waiting to date. The agony in families is dire since compensation for structures was not enough for us to purchase land elsewhere and rebuild our lives,” she said. 

She said even before the dust could settle, they saw KAA fencing off the land forcing them to engage a lawyer through their chairman and got a court decree that ordered NLC to relook into the matter.

Nyale said NLC  kept on postponing the exercise until two weeks ago when they came around.

“Some beneficiaries of the second phase of compensation have long died and their children and relatives are the ones following up the matter so NLC should  speed up the process so that we can also settle down,” she said.

Asma Mohamed who settled in the area in 2003 together with her husband and children said she lost her husband three years ago after battling sickness for a long time due to frustrations of the delayed compensation. 

“I bought the land from the family of our chairman Kitsao and I have stayed there since 2003 until 2017 when we were evicted and compensated with the promise of getting land compensation within days but the little money I got was consumed in hospital and three years ago I lost my husband,” she said. 

She called on NLC to consider their plight and move with speed to compensate them so that they can use the money to settle down.

“Let KAA pay us the compensation money with interest for the years gone,” she said. 

Gordon Orimba, another  resident, said that the land grabbers were using delay tactics to hoodwink NLC to consider them for compensation instead of the 189 affected residents. 

“These people produced titles under names of companies and it is us who moved to court and not the companies but they now want to claim our land and get compensation instead of us who are the real owners,” he said. 

Their lawyer Vincent Mogaka who successfully sued KAA and NLC forcing the latter to institute a ground inquiry said that he will stand with his clients to the end until they get their compensation. 

He said the delay also emanated from land grabbing issues whereby people who were not residing on the land emerged with title deeds.

“It is those who claim to have title deeds but do not know where the land in question is bringing problems and delaying the compensation process and my clients of 189 people requested NLC to come to the ground and verify,” said Mogaka. 

He said that 18 title deeds were gazetted but only five of them had numbers while the others were indicated To Be Determined (TBD) and he told the commission during a sitting in Malindi town that a splinter group has been formed with a list of forged signatures and were disrupting the compensation process.

 “The signature of my client has been forged and she’s being forced to be in a committee she doesn’t belong to and she says she didn’t sign anything,” he said.

Gershom Otachi, the NLC chairman accompanied by his vice chair Gertrude Nguku and their officers camped in Malindi for the inquiry and promised to finalize the matter in 60 days. 

“We are meeting groups of individuals laying claim on land earmarked for expansion, squatters and Kenya Airport Authority (KAA) officials to iron out issues before valuation for land can be done and compensation completed,” said the chairman.

 At least 218 people in two groups are awaiting possible compensation.

The Chairman said the commission was trying to ascertain the  real title deed owners of the land before conducting a valuation for possible compensation. 

“I think we are going in a systematic way by working closely with KAA and the ministry in terms of the availability of funds and after we’ve done the valuations, we deal with the first phase and complete and then move on to the second phase,” said Otachi. 

The airport is also in need of an additional 130 acres for the expansion of the runway from the current 1.4 kilometers to 2.5 kilometers but Otachi said that they will complete the phase two compensation before embarking on the third phase of runway expansion.