A court in Lamu has ordered the status quo to be maintained on a disputed parcel of land in the Hindi/Manda Magogoni area as more than 130 Chandavai residents challenge what they describe as an unlawful takeover of their ancestral land.

The court declined to certify the application as urgent but directed that it be served on the respondents, who were given 14 days to file their responses.

Justice Onyango further directed that the application be heard inter partes on October 14, 2026.

In the interim, the court ordered that the status quo prevailing on LR No. 13061 within the Hindi/Manda Magogoni area of Lamu County be maintained until October 14, 2026.

The order comes against the backdrop of a dispute involving 133 residents of Chandavai, who have moved to court seeking protection of land they say their families have occupied, cultivated and developed for generations.

The residents have sued the Office of the President, the Cabinet Secretary for Defence, the State Department for Lands and Physical Planning, the Attorney General, the National Land Commission, the Lamu Port-South Sudan-Ethiopia Transport (LAPSSET) Corridor Development Authority, the Lamu County Government and Dangote Industries, alongside two companies described as contractors.

In their court papers, the residents claim that they have identifiable portions of land comprised in or forming part of LR No. 13061 and have historically used the land for farming and livestock keeping.

They say their families have also built homes, mosques and shrines on the land, with some family members buried there.

Although they do not hold formal title deeds, the residents contend that their longstanding occupation, possession, customary or community tenure and beneficial use give rise to interests that should be recognised and protected.

The residents allege that heavy machinery and bulldozers entered the disputed land on August 7, 2024, destroying crops, trees and other property.

They claim the works were associated with government agencies and LAPSSET and that they were subsequently informed by local administrators that the land had previously been acquired for the LAPSSET project and later allocated to the Ministry of Defence for infrastructure developments around Manda Bay.

According to the residents, the developments included roads and expansion of facilities around the Kenya Navy Base at Manda Bay, US Camp Simba and Magogoni Airfield.

They further allege that some residents were told not to interfere with the works and were promised compensation for crops and other losses.

Some families, they claim, were forced to move into rented accommodation to make way for the developments.

The dispute has since expanded to proposed industrial development in the area.

The residents allege that soil testing and other preparatory activities linked to a proposed Dangote refinery began in July 2026.

They further claim that on September 10, 2026, police officers, chiefs and other government agents cleared one of the disputed areas, allegedly informing residents that the site would be used for a groundbreaking ceremony.

The residents say they were subsequently informed that the government had commenced a compulsory acquisition process involving land in Lamu.

They contend that the process risks compensating registered or absentee landowners while leaving out people who have actually occupied and used the land for generations.

The residents have asked the court to protect their interests, arguing that the absence of registered title deeds does not, in itself, extinguish interests in land or property that may attract compensation.

They rely, among other provisions, on Article 40(4) of the Constitution and provisions of the Land Act governing compulsory acquisition.

The residents allege that the statutory process for compulsory acquisition was not properly followed, including requirements relating to notices, identification of persons interested in the land, valuation, inquiries and compensation.

They also allege that affected residents were not adequately consulted and that crops, trees and other property were destroyed without prior valuation or compensation.

The plaintiffs have further raised constitutional and environmental issues, citing alleged violations of the right to property, fair administrative action and access to information.

They also contend that environmental requirements applicable to the proposed developments were not complied with.
The substantive application will come before the court for inter partes hearing on October 14, 2026, when the parties will have an opportunity to present their respective positions.