Evanson Waitiki says he is happy with Likoni land deal

A tycoon whose 943-acre piece of land was bought by the government in Mombasa to settle squatters in 2016 says he is happy with the deal.

The former owner of the controversial Waitiki Farm in Likoni, Mr Evanson Waitiki, has said he was happy with the government’s move to buy the land.

Speaking for the first time since the landmark agreement brokered by President Uhuru Kenyatta in 2016, Mr Waitiki said although he did not get what he anticipated, he was elated.

Mr Waitiki told the Nation at a Mombasa hotel that he had become a "very happy man" following the deal that also affected nearly 8,000 squatters.

“As you can see, I am becoming a young man again. I am stress-free and I am happy although I did not get what I wanted. It is important that you thank God for what you get. In life, you cannot always get everything that you want,” he said.

THANKED PRESIDENT KENYATTA

Mr Waitiki thanked President Kenyatta for resolving the 16-year controversy that had become a major political agenda in the Coast region.

The opposition had used the raging land row to seek votes in the 2013 elections.

“I was also very unhappy and at the same time worried over the thousands of squatters who lived there [fearing] being evicted any time. They too, like myself, did not enjoy peace. But now, I can state that I am very happy,” he said.

Mr Waitiki said he had given three acres to the Likoni Catholic Church, four acres to a school owned by the church and nine acres to three individuals he did not disclose.

The institutions and the individuals have title deeds to the parcels, he said.

VERY SENSITIVE ISSUE

Mr Waitiki declined to say how much he had received from the government “because it is very sensitive”.

“I wouldn’t speak about the financial aspect of it. It is a very sensitive issue. What I can say is that my heart is contented with what I got,” he insisted.

Former Land Cabinet Secretary Charity Ngilu had said that Mr Waitiki had demanded Sh10 million per acre, bringing the total cost to Sh9.3 billion for his land.

But government valuers had put its price at Sh2.64 billion.

President Kenyatta, who brokered the deal at State House, Nairobi in November 2015, is reported to have offered Mr Waitiki Sh1.1bn instead of the Sh9.3bn he had requested.

When the land was finally bought, the government declined to state how much it had paid for it but Mombasa Woman Representative Mishi Mboko had put the cost at Sh1.2 billion.

The payment of the Sh1.3 billion by the government put an end to a long-drawn stand-off between Mr Waitiki and the squatters who, with the support of Coast politicians, had refused to leave the farm.