Residents demand fresh valuation, pay out over highway project

Families affected by the construction of the Mombasa-Mtwapa-Kwa Kadzengo Road want the government to review the valuation of their property and pay them for the loss of their livelihood.

The residents of Bombolulu, Kisimani, and VOK areas in Nyali sub-county said the valuation done by the National Land Commission (NLC) in 2021 lacked transparency, and the awards for their land and other property were too low.

The multibillion-shilling road is part of the East Africa Coastal Corridor project from Tanzania to Kilifi County in the Coast region.

The residents claimed the project would impoverish them unless the government compensates for the loss of livelihoods, as some traders are being removed from their traditional business sites without a send-off package.

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The residents and the Coast Civil Society Network for Human Rights (CCSNHR) expressed frustration over the law and opaque compensation process overseen by the NLC, saying they were never allowed to view the valuation list before the awards were issued.

They demanded the immediate release of the detailed individual valuation reports, updated compensation based on 2025 market rates, inclusion of all Project Affected Persons (PAPs), including tenants and business operators and full transparency on the compensation process and disclosure of the PAPs’ list.

Tabitha Maina noted that they were never given the detailed valuation reports, and NLC instead issued vague award letters that left out critical information on the compensation process. “Our attempts to probe further have been met with silence or arrogant responses. This is in contravention of Article 35 of the Constitution of Kenya and the Access to Information Act, 2016,” she noted.

The group claimed there were glaring discrepancies observed in the recent issuance of awards, where some of their members received varying compensation figures for property of similar size and model.