SENATOR OMTATAH SEEKS ANSWERS ON KILIFI LAND TUSSLE 

Parliament Buildings 
Wednesday, 03rd December 2025

Senator Andrew Omtatah Okoiti has raised concerns about the long-standing and escalating land dispute between the Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) and the previous owners of land in Mariakani and Tsangatsini locations in Kilifi County.
The land in question, registered as parcel number CR 73754/26010 in Kaloleni Sub-County, had been earmarked by the Government in the 1980s for the construction of an army barracks. 
At the time, according to the Senator for Busia, the government promised to compensate and relocate the affected families to Magarini Constituency, where they would receive both land and a Government-built house. 
However, the initial compensation provided was paltry, ranging only between Kshs. 500 and Kshs. 2,000, and it remained a partial payment.
For forty years, the affected families continued to reside on the land, their lives suspended by the unfulfilled promise of relocation and full compensation. 
Senator Omtatah informed the House that these families have faced constant threats of displacement, prohibitions against putting up permanent structures, and were even restricted from burying their deceased relatives on the ancestral ground.
He highlighted that the KDF had issued an ultimatum requiring the families to vacate the land without consultation and without any concrete arrangements for compensation or resettlement.
Requesting a Statement from the Standing Committee on Land, Environment and Natural Resources on the floor of the Senate yesterday afternoon, Senator Omtatah requested the Committee to conduct an inquiry into the historical ownership and due process needed to clarify the historical ownership status of a parcel of land, including whether the acquisition process followed due legal process.
He tasked the Lands Committee to explain the reasons behind the Government's decades-long failure to fulfill its pledge to relocate and fully compensate the previous owners of Magarini Constituency. 
"The Lands Committee should find out whether it's possible to rescind KDF’s ultimatum, allowing the families to remain on the land without harassment or undue restrictions until they were fully and fairly compensated," Senator Omtatah submitted.