Saggaf family finally get back 289 acres of Wasini Island
Residents at Wasini sit on the shoreline to block boats carrying police officers from docking at the Island. Dozens of families fear being evicted after a court ruled that 289 acres of the island belong to the Saggaf family.
What you need to know:
- As the Saggaf family breathed a sigh of relief, locals who have been occupying part of the land expressed fear of evictions.
- They threatened to cause unrest on the island and marine national park if their grievances are not addressed.
After living as squatters for over 30 years, the Saggaf family has reclaimed 289 acres of Wasini Island, whose value has now shot to more than Sh2 billion.
Lunga Lunga Deputy County Commissioner Alason Hussein led a team of security officers and land surveyors from Kwale County in a survey that has renewed hope for the family that has lived in destitution despite owning prime property.
The island was surveyed last week after three past attempts to conduct the exercise hit snags.
“We’re happy the exercise was finally conducted. We’re now looking forward to getting a title deed for the property,” Mr Mohamed Maula, the family spokesman said.
The family, he added, will now follow up with the land agency to ensure they obtain ownership documents.
Residents living near the property had blocked the exercise, but after a number of consultative meetings between them and the family, the survey was done, ending decades of landlessness.
Living as squatters
Kwale Land Surveyor Herbert Ndolo led the exercise.
The Saggaf family has been living as squatters for more than 30 years despite owning the 289 acres of Wasini Island.
The move to conduct the survey came after the National Land Commission (NLC) ordered that the property be returned to the family after determining that it had suffered historical injustices.
The land in question, originally known as plot number W33/Kwale/Wasini, was owned by Saggaf Alawys and was inherited by his children, Mr Hassan Nassir, Mr Mohamed Nassir and Mr Ahmed Nassir.
However, a group of people claimed ownership of the property, and the dispute ended in the High Court in Mombasa.
After litigations by all the parties, a judgment was entered in favour of Saggaf in 1995.
Threatened to cause unrest
NLC then ordered that the property, which forms most of the larger Wasini Island, be returned to the Saggaf family. The land agency also directed the Chief Land Registrar to revoke any titles on the land as per the court order and restore ownership to the family.
This was done through a gazette notice dated March 1 ,2019.
An earlier cancellation of the title given to undeserving people had been issued in a gazette notice dated April 11, 1997.
However , despite these two orders , the family had been locked out of the land by cartels, whom, they say, are working with senior government officials to frustrate the survey and issuance of the title deed.
But with the survey now conducted, the family is optimistic that the processing of the title deed won’t take long.
But as the Saggaf family breathed a sigh of relief, locals who have been occupying part of the land expressed fear of evictions. They threatened to cause unrest on the island and marine national park if their grievances are not addressed. However, the family dismissed claims that anyone will be evicted.
