At least 500 families of senior civil servants living in government quarters in Mombasa have been ordered to vacate the houses to pave way for the affordable housing project.
The families on Hobley Road Estate in Mvita Sub County have been ordered to vacate the premises by 1st of October 2024 for the housing project which is part of government’s Bottom-Up Economic Transformation Agenda.
The affected families are now appealing to the concerned authorities to intervene swiftly to prevent their possible forceful eviction.
The notice to vacate the houses built during the colonial times was issued on 5th of March 2024 by the Mombasa County Affordable Housing Committee through the County’s Director of Housing Rogers Wakhungu.
The housing committee directed that the Hobley Estate situated in a prime area within Mombasa town be redeveloped as part of the affordable housing programme further noting that the current occupants would get priority to purchase or rent the new units.
Part of the notice from the housing committee chaired by the County Commissioner Mohamed N. Hassan reads “after deliberations the committee directed that Hobley Road Government Estate be redeveloped as part of the Affordable Housing Program in Mombasa County.”
Residents who spoke to the press on condition of anonymity for fear of victimization say the vacate notice has caused them sleepless nights.
“We thank and support the government for this noble initiative of affordable housing programme but the same should not be done to the detriment of people in government employment,” they said.
They say the move may cause families of people in the employment of the government to be thrown out into the streets from the 52 Hobley housing units.
The residents whose fate hangs in the balance contend that the decision to terminate their tenancies through the vacate notice was done arbitrarily as the occupants were not consulted beforehand through public participation process.
Some of the residents said most of the houses have not been maintained by the government for years and so the occupants have been the ones maintaining them.
“When I was allocated the house, it was in a deplorable condition and therefore spent at least Ksh400, 000 in loans to make it habitable,” said one of the tenants.
They are also requesting compensation and an extension of tenancy at least up to 1st May 2025 due to the current economic hardship which they contend has also seen an increase in the property market in the coastal city.
“We have tried to engage the Housing department and even wrote a letter requesting for compensation and extension but so far no communication from the committee,” added the tenant who said some of the occupants are of a Director level in their respective Ministries.
The distraught tenants have also noted that they have children in school sitting for examinations in October and the relocation will disrupt their school calendar.
“It’s also unfair that we are told to vacate the houses which we have been maintaining with our merger earnings without any form of compensation to facilitate us finding alternate accommodation” they noted.
They said residents of a nearby Buxton Point were each compensated with Ksh240, 000 when a similar project took place three years ago while giving examples of Mzizima, Likoni and Changamwe where occupants of either National or County government houses were compensated.
