The issue of land is a very sensitive issue not only in the coastal region but in Kenya as a whole.
Residents have been struggling to get a piece of land where they can build a house and call it home.
Due to this, land has been on high demand with prices increasing on a daily basis.
Let me take you to Likoni, Mombasa County, where some few jobless men have taken advantage of the situation to earn free cash from land buyers.
Apart from paying cash to the owner of the land, you will be forced to pay a kind of “Tax” to these unknown people, right from the beginning when you start building your home to the time you move in.
Most of them are believed to be drug users, and according residents, the young men can even paralyse your plans if you resist.
“They are just idlers who go round the area looking for people who are building homes. They then gang up and gather at the construction sites,” said a resident.
The first bunch of money is called “Pesa ya Kamba” which is usually paid when you are starting out. It does not end there, they will keep coming back and demanding for more cash.
“They normally claim that they inherited the land from their ancestors. If you refuse to give them the money, they will wait till night time and demolish your newly built house, and later sell the bricks to get money for buying drugs,” he added.
So how do people manage to build houses in the populated residential area extending from Shelly Beach all the way up to Mrima?
“You have to hire one or two police men who will guard your compound. Unless you embrace the services of the police officers, you will have to part with between Sh1,500 and Sh2,000 every time the young men show up,” said a resident.
Police recently arrested a section of youth believed to be behind the cartel, following complaints from a renown businessman in the area.
Residents are now urging the county government to curb the menace which is not only popular in Likoni, but also in other parts of Mombasa, where cases of drug abuse are high.