Residents of Kambini in Tsunza, Kinango sub-county of Kwale are crying foul over their imminent eviction from their ancestral land to pave way for the Dongo Kundu project.
The residents said the infrastructure project has seen their crops including coconut and custard apples uprooted while the graves in which their relatives have been interred are about to be destroyed. According to Riziki Athman, the government had acquired six acres of their 15-acre ancestral land for which they were to be compensated 52 million shillings.
“However, when the award letter came, the amount indicated as compensation was only 16 million and it was for a parcel of land with another plot number. If the government wants to take our land, then it is only fair that we are compensated before we leave but evicting us using strangers is not fair,” said Riziki.
Dongo Kundu
The bypass project which started in July 2016 is expected to decongest the Mombasa-Nairobi highway. The project runs from Mombasa Port’s second container terminal and links the highway at Bonje, near Mazeras. Phase one of the project was done by China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation at a cost of Sh 12bn from July 2016 to June 2018. Kenya acquired financing of the bypass through loan from the Japan International Cooperation Agency (Jica) in 2014 with repayment option of up to 30 years at an interest rate of 1.2%.
Phase two and three of the project involve construction of an interchange at the Likoni-Lunga Lunga highway and installation of two bridges: one at Mwache – spanning 900 metres, and a second at Mteza spanning 1.4km. The bypass will connect the main corridors; the Nairobi-Mombasa, Mombasa-Malindi and Mombasa-Lunga Lunga highways.
The seven-kilometre road between Mteza and Kibundani, linking the highway with the Likoni-Lunga Lunga Road, is currently 70% done and it will connect with Dongo Kundu Phase 2 in Mwache to Miritini. According to Mr Samuel Ogege, the two phases will be an alternative route to connect South Coast from Mombasa mainland without using Likoni ferry channel. The Nation has established that the government has released the remaining Sh 237 m which is meant to complete compensation to hundreds of those affected by the Dongo Kundu Phase 3 project.
