Tension is mounting at St Augustine Preparatory School in Mombasa over alleged attempts by an influential private developer to seize a parcel of school land for estate development.
The school founded in 1964 is owned by the National Council of Churches of Kenya (NCCK) and is accusing an influential private developer of constant harassment and encroachment. The school’s Board of Management and Parents Association met to chart a way forward claiming that the private developer has made several unsuccessful attempts to hive part of the school land. The school’s headmistress Ms. Serah Kessi told journalists on Tuesday at the school that: “hired goons have started clearing a section of the school land behind the girl’s dormitory and were planting coconut trees.” “The private developer Tudor Water Spots, who is the proprietor of a neighboring hospitality facility, is using security guards and ferocious dogs to scare the school community into submission,” said Kessi. Ms. Kessi said the school management has in the past sought the help of the National Land Commission (NLC) over the encroachment matter.
‘’NLC Chairman Mohamad Swazuri was here and he directed that the private developer should discontinue encroaching on the school land,” she said showing reporters the title deed proving that the land was indeed the property of the school. She said if the enrichment menace is not checked the church-owned school will no longer have a playing field and space for future expansions.The school’s Board of Management Chairperson Ms. Betty Maneno said they will need the support of everybody in defense of the school land, which she said is known to be an academic icon that has tutored many prominent Kenyans.