Over 500 squatters living on land belonging to the Agricultural Development Corporation in Malindi risk eviction after a court issued a permanent injunction restraining them from occupying it.
Justice Maureen Odeny of the Environment and Land Court in Malindi also ordered the squatters to pay Sh33.4 million as special damages and leave the land within the next 60 days.
“I … find that the plaintiffs (ADC) have proved their case against the defendants (squatters) and are therefore entitled to the orders sought,” said Justice Odeny.
She said the squatters are trespassers. “The defendants have no legal mandate to use the land in any manner. They are trespassers on the land hence should vacate or be evicted,” she said.
ADC had told the court that the squatters started encroaching on the land in 2000. They would enter during rainy seasons, cultivate it and plant crops like maize and cassava.
Their numbers grew and by 2009, they started building temporary structures, prompting the company to warn them against further encroachment on the land.
ADC also said that it had given the squatters three months’ notice to stop their activities and remove the structures but they ignored it.
The squatters were summoned to appear in court but only five appointed a law firm to represent their interests. They claimed that they only came to learn about the case on August 8 2017 after court orders had been issued restraining them from cultivating the land.
ADC told the court that it had suffered losses and damages from the acts of the squatters because their invasion had reduced the size of its land for grazing.
It also said its animals had died as a result of starvation due to a shortage of grazing. The corporation produced death certificates for the animals to prove their claim. BY DAILY NATION