This archive report was first published on 21 July 2019.
On April 18, 2019, fishermen and beach users protested over the grabbing of landing sites that had rendered them jobless since they could not access their places of work.
According to a 2015 Haki Yetu study titled Nowhere to Land, there are 50 landing sites in Mombasa, with 14 having been gazetted but yet to be formally recognised.
However, only five of the 50 landing sites are available for use, leaving thousands of fishermen without a place to work.
Seventy-year-old Hassan Mwamtoa, who has been fishing for decades, recently joined hundreds of other fishermen and industry players at Bamburi public beach to protest the continued grabbing of landing sites.
"When I went into fishing, there were many landing sites. Traders would buy fish at the sites. What has happened is shocking. Unfortunately, our leaders do not act even as the sites vanish," he said.
Fr Gabriel Dolan, the executive director of Haki Yetu, said the delay by State officials in implementing an order by President Uhuru Kenyatta has hit the fishing industry in Mombasa and surrounding areas hard.
"The President was very clear about reclaiming these sites. Unfortunately, they are still being held by grabbers, making it difficult for fishermen to do their work," Fr Dolan said.
Wavuvi Association of Kenya chairman Hamid Mohamed said grabbing of landing sites has piled more misery on fishermen.
"Records in our possession indicate that Mombasa had 68 landing sites in 1968 and 15 had been gazetted by 1975. There is no landing site at the moment. It is a big problem," Mr Hamid said.
