This archive report was first published on 20 August 2021.
On August 20, 2021, the Senate Transport and Infrastructure Committee suspended the ongoing construction of the Sh6 billion Buxton Point Estate in Mombasa due to concerns over compensation and resettlement issues.
The committee, chaired by Kiambu Senator Kimani Wamatangi, made the decision following petitions from Mombasa residents who claim the project is shrouded in secrecy and being implemented on public land.
Senator Wamatangi stated, "There are a lot of issues on compensation, issues of resettlement. We also want the documentation of whole contract agreements because this is a public property and it remains as such."
The proprietors of Buxton Point Company Limited, the firm behind the project, have been summoned to appear before the Senate Committee within 14 days.
The committee also summoned Governor Hassan Joho and Buxton Point CEO Ahmed Badawy to present detailed documentation about the project's joint venture agreement.
Buxton Point Company is associated with Mombasa tycoon Suleiman Shahbal.
The project, which began in 2016, received a legal green light in March 2021 after the High Court dismissed a case seeking to stop the venture.
However, a section of Buxton residents had opposed the project, claiming Mr. Shahbal did not have the capacity to tamper with any portion of the land where the estate stands.
Justice Sila Munyao dismissed the petition, stating that the county had given the applicants enough time to vacate and even volunteered to compensate them.
As part of the relocation scheme, Mombasa County began issuing a relocation allowance of Sh240,000 to affected tenants on March 19, with the developer paying a Sh60,000 deposit for each family as commitment for buying the units.
The project involves the sale of units, including one-bedroom houses for Sh1.8 million, two-bedroom units for Sh3 million, and four-bedroom units for Sh4.2 million, with bedsitters going for about a million shillings.
