Kenyans occupying land belonging to Moi International Airport in Mombasa could face eviction after Parliament ordered the government to recover all parcels that have been encroached upon.
The National Assembly’s Transport Committee on Thursday, September 24, directed Aviation Principal Secretary Teresia Mbaika and Kenya Airports Authority (KAA) Managing Director Moses Wekesa to provide a detailed report on all airport land that has been encroached upon.
The report is expected to identify individuals and companies occupying or using sections of the airport’s land as the government moves to secure space needed for the planned expansion of the facility.
Transport Committee Chairperson George Kariuki issued the directive after KAA identified land encroachment as one of the major obstacles affecting plans to expand Moi International Airport.
Members of the committee questioned how KAA intended to raise the airport’s passenger-handling capacity from the current 2.5 million to 4.5 million annually without first securing the land required for the expansion.
"This Committee needs to know how much airport land has been encroached upon and who is doing it. When you tell us that you want to increase the airport's capacity from 2.5 million to 4.5 million passengers yet you have not secured the land, how will this happen?" Kariuki asked.
Wekesa told lawmakers that KAA had faced difficulties in reclaiming the affected parcels despite pursuing several matters in court and implementing recommendations from previous reports.
"We are happy to have this discussion with you. We face challenges in implementing recommendations from the reports we have put together. We are pursuing this encroachment based on previous reports," Wekesa said.
The KAA chief also revealed that the authority had at one point deployed General Service Unit (GSU) officers to provide security on some of the airport land located outside the facility.
However, Wekesa said the officers were later ordered to withdraw as legal disputes over the parcels continued in court.
"I want to cite a case here. We have been using GSU officers to guard the land outside the airport, but they received instructions to leave, and all these cases are in court," Wekesa added.
The directive comes as the government, through KAA, advances a nationwide airport modernisation programme involving major infrastructure improvements and expansion projects at Moi International Airport.
Among the planned projects is the expansion of the airport’s main runway and aircraft parking facilities to accommodate larger aircraft and increase the number of flights that can be handled at the same time.
KAA also plans to modernise the airport’s terminals, including constructing a modern passenger lounge at the domestic departures terminal.
The upgrades are expected to address congestion while improving passenger experience as the government works to increase the airport’s capacity.
