On October 20, 2024, during the Mashujaa Day celebrations, President William Ruto made a raft of promises to coast residents, including the resettlement of thousands of landless families.
Barely six months later, a section of coast residents have come forward to call out the president for failing to keep this promise despite the government setting aside Ksh1.5 billion for the exercise.
A section of residents from Diani and Tiwi in Kwale County has threatened to return to their 1,000 hectares of land, from which they were evicted on January 16, 2021, and resume farming activities.
According to the residents, those who evicted them have not undertaken any significant development on the land, leaving it in a state of neglect.
"We have decided to return to this land and continue farming. It has been four years since they evicted us at night, yet nothing has been done, and we have no land to cultivate," Ann Muthoka, one of the residents, revealed.
The more than 700 residents further clarified rumours that they were only seeking 100 hectares, maintaining that they wanted the entire 1,000 hectares.
The residents lamented that the plants and trees they had left behind were destroyed, leaving them to count their losses.
Those who were evicted at night recounted how they lost millions in property, as they were not allowed to take any belongings. Some have since lost their lives due to health complications linked to the land, as efforts to return to their ancestral home have remained futile.
The residents now want President Ruto to honour the promise he made during the Mashujaa Day celebrations and ensure that all families left as squatters are resettled.
"We want the president to fulfil his promise, just as he did during the celebrations. He told us that he was a leader of the people and that he would resolve the issue of squatters here in Kwale. Where is he now?" Juma Amri, another resident, lamented.
Speaking during the Mashujaa Day celebrations in Kwale, President Ruto said the government would purchase swathes of land from the so-called absentee landlords in the six counties at the Coast to settle the squatters.
This was one of Ruto's major campaign promises, particularly made in the Coast region, and it is yet to be fulfilled.
"The government has set aside Ksh1.5 billion to buy land from absentee landlords for the settlement of squatters in the Coast region," the president stated at the time.
