Deputy President Kithure Kindiki has praised Coast leaders for working together to resolve long-standing land disputes, saying the issuance of title deeds to residents marks a major step in addressing historical grievances that have shaped politics in the region for decades.
Speaking on Thursday during a title deeds issuance event in Mombasa, Kindiki said leaders had shifted from discussing problems to delivering practical solutions to residents affected by squatter challenges and land ownership disputes.
The Deputy President said the current leadership had chosen cooperation instead of political confrontation, especially on sensitive matters affecting the Coast region, including land ownership and access to identity cards.
Kindiki praised the broad-based government arrangement bringing together UDA, ODM, and other political parties, saying it had united leaders and supporters from different political backgrounds and communities.
“I thank you for this broad-based government system that has brought us together,” he added.
He also commended Coast leaders for helping facilitate discussions with absentee landlords, an issue that has remained politically sensitive in the region for many years.
“I want to thank Coast leaders who helped lead discussions with absentee landlords who held title deeds while residents lived on the land without those title deeds,” the DP highlighted.
For years, land ownership disputes have remained one of the biggest political and economic concerns at the Coast, where many families have occupied land for generations without ownership documents even though title deeds existed under private individuals or landlords.
Kindiki described the ongoing title deeds programme as an important intervention aimed at ending those long-standing disputes and giving residents security over the land they occupy.
“Today we are here not to ask the land question, but to provide the land answer and the land solution,” he said.
The Deputy President further praised reforms on identity card issuance in the Coast region, saying previous vetting procedures had unfairly discriminated against some residents.
He also welcomed efforts aimed at ensuring the Coast remained part of the country’s wider development agenda, including reforms linked to operations at the Port of Mombasa.
The former Interior Ministry official thanked political leaders from the region for joining hands to address the long-running squatter problem, saying history would remember leaders who chose action instead of complaints.
“When history is written, the current crop of Coast leaders, including Hassan Joho, Minister Mvurya, Speaker Kingi, the governors of the six Coastal counties, senators, members of Parliament, Hassan Omar, and many others will have a special place for you, for providing the solution to the problem that was bothering the people you represent for a very long time,” he noted.
He added that the leaders had chosen “not to complain, but to provide the answer to the problem of land and squatters in the Coast.”
The title deeds issuance ceremony formed part of a wider government programme aimed at resolving historical land grievances and improving ownership documentation for residents across coastal counties.
Land disputes and squatter concerns have for decades remained central issues in the Coast region, often shaping elections, economic activities, and relations between local communities, landlords, and government institutions.
Kindiki’s remarks also reflected the government’s wider efforts to promote political cooperation through the broad-based arrangement involving leaders from different political formations.
He said the current leadership approach was the kind of governance many Kenyans had waited for over the years because it focused on directly responding to long-standing public concerns.
The Coast region remains politically and economically important because of its ports, tourism sector, infrastructure projects, and continued debates surrounding land ownership.
As the government continues issuing title deeds in different parts of the region, it hopes the programme will help reduce historical disputes, strengthen economic security for residents, and improve public confidence in state institutions.
The event in Mombasa once again placed land reform and regional development at the centre of Kenya’s political conversation, particularly at the Coast where unresolved historical grievances have influenced public debate for generations.