More than 1,500 Kiang’ombe village residents in Thika have received a major boost in their pursuit to reclaim a parcel of land that had been allegedly grabbed by a private developer.
The government has ordered a halt of the construction of two factories that were being put up by the developer on the 11 acres, until the dispute surrounding the parcel is resolved.
The private developer had allegedly bought the land from a broker and started construction of the factories. The construction would have rendered some residents homeless.
Thika West deputy county commissioner Tom Anjere convened a crisis meeting on Tuesday, after it emerged that things were starting to get out of hand as residents resolved to forcibly eject the investor.
He also directed residents holding title deeds of the disputed piece of land to surrender them to the government for an audit and authentication.
The two groups, Maasai Village Women Self-Help Group and the Kiang’ombe Settlement Scheme lay claim of ownership of the land.
Last week, they said they will write to President Uhuru Kenyatta to intervene and help reclaim it from the investor, who they said bought it without their knowledge.
“We need cooperation and patience from residents as the government conducts investigations into the disputed land to verify the legitimate owners,” Anjere said.
He said if investigations reveal the land was irregularly acquired by the developer, its title will be revoked and the land given back to residents.
Anjere also warned Provincial Administrators, police officers and land officials, whom residents claimed are working in cahoot withland brokers to grab land, that their days are numbered.
“It was a President’s directive that all land rows pitting groups be resolved quickly, efficiently and effectively. We will work on this keenly, because we don’t want chaos to erupt,” he said.
Maasai Women Self-Help Group chairman Peter Ndukuthio said the move by the government will shed light on who owns the land.
“Its commendable that the government will audit all title deeds being held by residents, as the real owners will be known and the dispute will be over,” he said.
Ndukuthio said the land was given to the group in 1990 by the government as a reward for supporting it.
“We wish that the government expedites the process of issuing title deeds to members as we have already paid Sh6 million survey and title deed fees,” Ndukuthio said.
Kiang'ombe Squatters' Settlement Scheme chairlady Milkah Wangui said some higher forces have been protecting land brokers, saying all efforts to reclaim their four acres had hit a snag.
She said four of the 11 acres had been earmarked for construction of a primary school.
She said the group will petition the National Land Commission to investigate the land grabbing.
“NLC should investigate under what circumstances the private developer acquired a title deed for a piece of land that has been set as a land for a public school for more than 40 years. We want the title deed for the parcel revoked,” Wangui said.
Area MCA Elizabeth Muthoni called on the government to hasten investigations and ensure justice is served to avoid bloodshed like was witnessed early last year in Kihiu Mwiri land-buying company