The Malindi International Airport. [Photo/ kenyatraveltips.com]
About 300 families in Kwachocha have gone to court to withdraw orders stopping the eviction and payment process for the Sh5.6 billion development of Malindi International Airport.
The families say they are not part of the Mtangani Development group which obtained orders in May halting land surveying and property valuation on the airport expansion lands.Last month, Justice James Olalo issued orders stopping the Kenya Airports Authority, the National Lands Commission (NLC), the Attorney General and Police from evicting residents.In November 2016, government disbursed Sh300 million to the NLC for compensating the affected families as the land survey and property evaluation went on. However, the 300 families urged the government through the NLC to speed up the compensation to enable them start a new life in a different land.Ibrahim Ndaa, one of the affected residents said they were withdrawing the case following consensus between them and Mtangani CBO officials at the Deputy County Commissioner’s office.“It was done through consent from both parties with consultation from the Assistant County Commissioner and lawyer Stephen Obaga for the Matangani residents and they agreed to exclude us,” he said.The residents asked President Uhuru Kenyatta to intervene and push for the compensation process to be done faster.Village elder Duncan Wahida said there were two groups in the compensation plan and Kwachocha residents were willing to move out of the land once paid.In the agreement to withdraw Kwachocha residents from the case, the DCC ordered representatives of Mtangani to avail themselves at lawyer Obaga’s office on June 19 to execute the withdrawal.Mtangani residents had moved to court through a CBO demanding for the suspension of the airport’s expansion because several land ownership cases on the airport’s expansion lands lay in court unresolved.The CBO had argued that the airport’s expansion would lead to the demolition of 4,000 permanent and 2,200 semi-permanent houses leading to huge loses.