Principal Secretary for the State Department for Transport Mohamed Daghar has defended the government’s efforts to address the long-standing land ownership challenges at the Coast, saying President William Ruto has made significant progress through the issuance of title deeds.
Speaking during a UDA consultative meeting with village elders and Mabalozi wa Nyumba Kumi in Kisauni, Mombasa, on Monday, Daghar said land ownership remains one of the biggest challenges facing coastal communities, with many residents still lacking title deeds.
“Land ownership here at the Coast is a chronic problem. Across all six coastal counties, including Tana River, about 80 per cent of coastal residents do not have title deeds,” Daghar said.
He identified Kisauni and Likoni as among the areas in Mombasa that have been particularly affected by land ownership disputes and lack of documentation.
Daghar said President Ruto’s administration had accelerated the issuance of title deeds at the Coast, describing the programme as an important step towards resolving historical land challenges.
“No president in Kenya’s history has issued title deeds at the scale President Ruto has at the Coast. He has already issued hundreds of thousands of title deeds and has said he wants to issue even more,” he said.
His remarks came days after President Ruto issued thousands of title deeds to residents in Mombasa, including beneficiaries from Mwakirunge, Mikindani, Jomvu and Kwa Punda.
Daghar said the government was also working to address the plight of squatters and absentee landlords as part of efforts to resolve longstanding land ownership disputes.
He said some families had occupied the same parcels of land for generations without formal ownership documents, making the issuance of title deeds an important step in securing their rights.
UDA Secretary-General Hassan Omar Sarai backed the government’s efforts, saying land remains one of the most pressing issues facing residents of Kisauni and the wider Coast.
“There is no chronic problem in Kisauni like the issue of land. We have seen the steps taken by the President to address the land question,” Sarai said.
Sarai called for cooperation between the government and coastal residents to ensure the land question is fully addressed.
He also called for the recovery of land he alleged had been taken from coastal communities, saying residents should benefit from property that belongs to them.
“We want those who are still alive to benefit from the land that was taken from us,” Sarai said.
He further accused past political leaders of marginalising coastal communities through land dispossession and limited access to employment and education, saying the current administration should continue addressing what he described as historical injustices.