Mombasa County Lands Executive Hussein "Amadow" Mohamed arrived at Buxton Point on Wednesday morning with a closure order for the site. According to The Star, he said work should stop until the parties agree on how the former Buxton estate tenants will get their 184 units. Former tenants and several other people came with him.
Casual workers at the site asked what would happen to them, since they are paid by the day. The Star reported that Amadow promised them three days' wages and told them to go home. The workers refused to leave until they were paid in cash on the spot. Stones were thrown, and Amadow and his county inspectorate team fled. Citizen Digital reported that the workers hurled stones and wielded wooden bars to drive the officials away. Police stepped in to restore order as the chaos spread beyond the site.
Speaking to the press later, Amadow said the clash had been planned. "They can misuse people's children; they can arm them with machetes and rungus so that they can hit government officials, but I will not be intimidated," he said. He added that he would follow the law, "whether you are a billionaire or not."
GulfCap Real Estate CEO Chris Ochieng told The Star that the order to close the Phase 2 construction site was unlawful. He said Amadow had cited a lack of building approvals. The company, he said, showed him approvals issued by his own office. Ochieng said the developer had filed a formal appeal, so nothing should happen for at least 14 days. He also said county officials brought two lorries of people to evict the workers. According to Citizen Digital, Buxton Point management says the issues were already settled. It accuses the county of playing politics with the KSh 6 billion project.
John Tsuma, deputy chair of the former tenants, said the original deal was that they would get their 184 units first. He said the developer later added an addendum delaying the handover until Phase 2 is finished. Ochieng confirmed that the tenants' 10 per cent share is due when Phase 2, still under way, is completed. Tsuma said the developer got land worth KSh 3 billion for free. The 184 units, he said, are worth less than KSh 600 million.
Tsuma said the Senate had ruled in the tenants' favour and directed the developer to hand over the units. He added that the tenants are also due another 336 units in Phase 2. He said the workers appeared to have been incited. He asked agencies including the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission to investigate. Citizen Digital reported that the county is also demanding the handover of an Early Childhood Development Education (ECDE) facility under its agreement with the developer.
The clash came a day after Ochieng, Amadow and the former tenants met at Tononoka hall to try to resolve the dispute.