Question over state night of Mombasa freight terminal

The night raid of the privately owned container terminal in Mombasa by the Kenya Railway Corporation (KRC) has sparked questions, with its managers terming it as economic sabotage.

The raid carried out at about 3 am on Sunday at the KenCont has sparked outrage and raised questions about whether the government respects the rule of law and private property.

It started on Friday at about 9.30 pm when a multi-agency team comprising KRC officers and police descended on KenCont and Boss Freight and defaced their walls with Xs marked in red.

Officials from both businesses said there were no court orders, eviction notices, or official communication from KRC of planned eviction or repossession of the disputed land. 

It is on Friday night that the guards of KenCont alerted the managers at the firm that strange people were marking the premises with the infamous X, meaning for demolition.

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A bulldozer was parked at the KenCont main gate on Friday evening, ready to destroy the CFS that had hundreds of imported vehicle units for customers from the East African region.

KenCont is a leading bonded warehouse with a capacity to hold more than 2000 vehicle units, and several government agencies, such as customs, National Transport and Safety (NTSA), and Kenya Bureau of Standards (Kebs) officers, are stationed there.

Siginon Group legal manager Ms Eva Odongo termed the night raid as state harassment and impunity, noting that they were not served with any court order by KRC.

“Why are they not available to talk to us? We heard that they were claiming ownership of this property, which is private. They brought loads of police officers to intimidate us and stall operations. There is confusion because we do not know exactly what is going on,” she protested.

She said the invasion had interfered with normal operations since the gates had been barricaded, and they had been forced to guard the premises.

The standoff has put hundreds of goods in transit in limbo and many jobs at risk. KR sent out a copy of a title deed dated April 30, 2025, just days before the raid, to justify its actions.

But the Kencont legal team has dismissed the document as dubious, maintaining that the land is leased from private landlords holding valid titles and that rate payments were up to date.

On Friday, KRC managing director Philip Mainga was reported to be in Mombasa but has remained conspicuously silent over the raid.

One KRC officer who sought anonymity said, "We will stop the raid if they behave." Sources said the KRC raid was out to arm-twist KenCont to re-negotiate new lease term.

Kenya Kwanza campaigned on the platform of economic revival and upholding the rule of law, but it is seen to have undermined both.

A KR communication officer on the ground said they were out to reclaim their property in Mombasa County and that they formed a multi-agency team to carry out the exercise.

He confirmed that Mr Mainga was in Mombasa on Saturday to follow up on the operation.

“We have targeted many areas where they want to reclaim our land in Mombasa. This has nothing to do with politics,” said the officer who preferred not to be mentioned because he had not been authorised to comment on the raid.