A public inquest into historical land injustices in the Coast region has heard that Garissa County Senator Mohamed Yusuf Haji, grabbed 84 acres of land in Mombasa.
The Muhammad Swazuri-led National Land Commissioner (NLC) on Tuesday kicked-off a public inquiry into historical land injustices at the Coast with aims investigate all land disputes since 1895, when the Kenyan Coast was taken over from its Omani rulers through the post-independence era.
The NLC inquest committee is chaired by NLC Commissioner Dr Samuel Tororei.
During the first day of the inquest at the Kenya School of Government, a family told the NLC team that Haji unlawfully acquired the land during his tenure as Coast Provincial Commissioner (PC) in the 1990s.
The family of Kazungu Moli, through its representative, Harry Chogo, said Haji later sold the land to Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al Nahyan, a charitable and humanitarian foundation.
"The PC sold the land (Majaoni settlement scheme) for Sh4.8 million when residents were living on it," claimed Chogo, as his father Kazungu Moli, 85 keenly listened during the hearing.
Sheikh Zayed Charitable and Humanitarian Foundation has since leased the land to African University Trust of Kenya (AUTK), according to Moli.
AUTK has now constructed the Mombasa International University (MIU) at a cost of about Sh500 million on the land.
Chogo said the family of about 250 members residing on the land is now facing eviction from AUTK, which has severally told them it would deploy bulldozers to bring down their houses if they do not vacate.
The family of Mzee Moli now want the original title deed for plot number MN/I/5141 cancelled and the land reverted to them.
However, Commissioner Tororei said Senator Haji and AUTK had been invited into the hearing but failed to attend and that they would be given an opportunity to respond.
“The other parties did not come and we will therefore give them a chance to respond to the claimants,” Tororei said as reported by the Standard.