Ex-Buxton tenants demand EACC answers on Mombasa affordable housing land
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Former residents of Buxton in Mombasa and human rights groups are pressing the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission to disclose the status of its investigation into how six acres of public land were transferred for an affordable housing project.
Former Buxton residents, joined by activists from the Haki Yetu Organisation and the Jamvi la Ardhi na Makao Mombasa forum, gathered outside the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) offices in Mombasa on Thursday to demand answers on the status of an investigation into how public land at Buxton was acquired for an affordable housing project.
The Mombasa project is linked to a six-acre piece of public land whose disposal is the subject of an unresolved EACC probe that began after a petition by Haki Yetu. The former tenants say they are still in the dark and have not been allocated any units as promised.
"This warrants clear answers regarding circumstances under which the land was disposed of, the processes through which it was made available for development and whether the public interest and the rights of the affected residents were adequately protected," Haki Yetu legal officer Munira Ali said outside the EACC offices.
Ali said it was concerning that the housing programme continues to be implemented while questions over the land's disposal remain unresolved, adding that affordable housing cannot be pursued at the expense of accountability, lawful public land management or the rights of affected communities. She said the commission's silence since 2024 has left tenants without answers, and asked what the EACC has established and when a conclusion can be expected.
The activists also said public land at Buxton has been used to build short-stay apartments whose proceeds go to private individuals, and that housing-levy-funded units are being given to wealthy businessmen. Buxton Tenants Association chairman Mohamed Mzee said the residents are in limbo and that they want to know whether what was done to them was right so they can decide their next course of action.