This archive report was first published on 23 August 2019.
On Wednesday, a local tycoon in Malindi, Kilifi County, evicted Kaya elders from their premises without notice, sparking outrage and concern over the future of their rehabilitation and residential services.
According to the elders, they have been living on the land for 16 years and were ambushed by the tycoon's decision to fence off the compound. The elders, led by Malindi District Cultural Association (MADCA) secretary general Joseph Karisa Mwarandu, claim that their efforts to rehabilitate and offer residential services to victims of witchcraft allegations will be ruined after the evictions.
“We have been here for a long time and we wonder why the tycoon is after this land yet he has not shown us the ownership documents,” Mwarandu said.
The elders also claim that the evictions were in bad faith and an attempt to grab the land that is part of a 24-acre parcel belonging to the government and was once used as an agricultural showground.
However, some MADCA members defended the tycoon, saying that the association had failed to pay rent of Sh150 for years, which may have been the reason for the eviction.
On August 23, 2019, the tycoon, Japhet Noti Shutu, produced an agreement signed between him and the MADCA, accusing the elders of defaulting on their rent payments.
“We issued several notices with the last one being in December 2018, but they failed to leave and this affected my investments hence I had no otherwise but to send them out so that I can be free to invest in my land,” Shutu said.
