President Uhuru Kenyatta on Monday asked the National Lands Commission to revoke the allocation of the Kibarani dumpsite land in Mombasa.
He directed the dumpsite to be transformed into a recreational site in line with the Mombasa regeneration project following a meeting by Mombasa Governor Hassan Joho, Tourism CS Najib Balala and Keriako Tobiko of Environment.
Earlier on, Joho and the two CSs held talks and agreed to the governor's request for a city regeneration intervention modeled on the Nairobi Regeneration Programme.
State House Spokesperson Kanze Dena noted: “President Kenyatta’s directives on the Kibarani dumpsite land and the Mombasa Regeneration Project are in line with his Big 4 development agenda in which he seeks to improve the lives of Kenyans by boosting wealth and employment creation.”
[caption caption="President Uhuru Kenyatta with Governor Hassan Joho"]
[/caption]
In June, Governor Joho ordered the closure of the Kibarani dumpsite within 70 days and its relocation to Mwakirunge, a site opposed by the Kenya Civil Aviation Authority.
Parliament has since launched investigations into the circumstances under which two companies were allocated a part of the Indian Ocean, raising fears of irreparable damage to the environment.
The Water Resource Management Authority (WARMA) had opposed the reclamation of the riparian land terming it as ocean encroachment.
On Sunday, the Parliamentary committee visited sections of Kibarani indicating the ongoing reclamation was disposing harmful chemicals and particles into the ocean chocking the aquatic animals.
The Environmental Committee chaired by Maara MP Kareke Mbiuki demanded to know why the works at the Kibarani dumpsite had not been stopped as directed by WARMA.
[caption caption="National Assembly Environment committee members during a tour of the Kibarani dumpsite "]
[/caption]
A letter dated September 26, 2018, by WARMA read: “Following routine inspection along the Indian Ocean, two developers — Multiple Inland Container Depot and Shehena Enterprises in Nyali bridge were found to have encroached into the riparian land.”
