Land grabbers on notice ahead of Makindu Township's revamp
A section of Makindu Township in Makueni County, as pictured on April 12, 2023. The busy township along Mombasa-Nairobi highway is blighted by land grabbing.
A cemetery, a market, an airstrip, a bus park, a proposed prison, and a proposed stadium are among the amenities tens of private developers may be forced to surrender if a move to plan in Makindu Township, Makueni County, succeeds.
A contractor on Thursday kicked off the planning of the trading centre located along the Mombasa-Nairobi highway.
While putting on notice those who have grabbed public land, Makueni Lands executive Sonia Musyoka said a 1978 map of Makindu Township will guide the planning.
“Makindu cannot afford to lag behind when its peers are reaping the fruits of urban planning. Wote Town, which is relatively smaller than Makindu, is now creating employment opportunities after attracting serious investors because it is planned,” she said on Wednesday when she unveiled Moses Kola, the director of Geoplan Consultants, the company tasked with the Sh 5.4 million urban planning contract.
The urban planning exercise, which is expected to take two months, is fraught with jitters since some prominent businessmen in the township have set up homes and shops in zones earmarked for public amenities.
An investor pleaded with the county government to be lenient as it moves to reclaim grabbed land.
"When it comes to demolishing some of the houses, do it in a dignified manner so that the owners do not suffer heart attacks," Gabriel Kisilu said.
Boda boda operators ride through Makindu airstrip in Makueni County on April 12, 2023. The airstrip has been run down and sections of it grabbed by private developers.
However, county officials and Makindu MCA Steve Kilonzo asked those who have either grabbed public land or encroached on public utilities to willingly leave before they are kicked out.
"We are looking forward to a vibrant town with an airstrip, a stadium, a green park, a modern market, an ICT hub and functional roads,” Mr Kilonzo said.
Makindu Township’s revamp dovetails with ongoing efforts by the national government to upgrade a slum known as Misongeni and develop the airstrip, which has been run down over the years and targeted by land grabbers.
A portion of Makindu airstrip has been converted to farmland, complete with luxuriant crops, while other sections have been taken over by private developers who have built residential houses.
A recent status report by the Kenya Airports Authority sheds light on the degree of vandalism meted on the airstrip and the encroachment of the aerodrome land in the heart of the town.
Although it is among the oldest and the most expensive towns in the county, Makindu has been developing haphazardly.
According to the county’s Lands and Urban Planning Chief Officer, Jackson Daudi, only one person has title deeds to his two plots.
“Makindu was last planned in 1978. Today, only two out of the 5, 050 plots in the town have title deeds,” Mr Daudi said, underscoring the thorny land ownership issue in the town, which the devolved unit blames for unabated land grabbing.
A man speaks during a forum on April 12, 2023, to mark the start of Makindu Township's planning.
The Nation has established that the two plots with title deeds belong to the late Sammy Mbova, who was a powerful career civil servant during the reign of the late President Daniel Arap Moi.
This is the second time the county government has attempted to plan the vibrant township. Initially, the exercise ran into headwinds after it was hijacked by powerful plot owners.
Dr Musyoka, the Lands executive, sought to allay fears of a second stalling, expressing optimism that the planning will pave the way for issuance of title deeds, reclamation of public land in the hands of individuals, increased attractiveness to investors as well as streamlined development in the town which is home to one of the biggest Sikh temples in the region.
Makindu is among four townships in the county with a magistrate’s court. An upcoming Makindu Sikh Temple Hospital will increase to two the number of level four hospitals in the township.
A Kenya Medical Training College campus makes the township vibrant while an upcoming Amref University is set to make it an education hub, but this plan is blighted by land grabbing.
Kibwezi West MP Mwengi Mutuse has written to Transport Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen seeking the assistance of the national government in developing Makindu airstrip.
“It is recommended that a team drawn from the Kenya Airports Authority, the National Lands Commission and the County of Makueni institute a joint survey to establish the airstrip’s boundaries,” Transport Principal Secretary Mohamed Dhagar said a month ago.
He was responding to a letter by Makueni Governor Mutula Kilonzo Jr, who had also asked the government to develop the airstrip to unlock the region’s economic potential.
