Barely a week after Thika residents thwarted an attempt to grab a prime acre in town, grabbers have tried to wrest land from a school.
On Friday last week, residents woke up to find beacons on yet-to-be developed parts of Heshima Primary School in Kiboko Estate.
On Monday, learning at the school was temporarily disrupted after pupils joined their parents and teachers to protest against the grab. The school is on a five-acre parcel.
A section of it was preserved for construction of either a secondary school or a polytechnic to serve Matharao, Umoja and Gachagi slum residents. It has become a target for fraudsters. The school has no title deed.
Pupils removed all the beacons. They chanted ‘Shamba Letu’. Residents warned against encroachment on the school compound. Mwangi Njuguna, representing MP Patrick Wainaina, said the constituency will use CDF cash to fence the school and ward off grabbers. He said the legislator will not tolerate illegal acquisition of public property.
Head teacher Joseph Ndichu said the grabbers stormed the school on Friday and started clearing thickets. They fled but returned to mount the beacons when no one was around.
secondary or polytechnic
“I received a call from a teacher informing me strangers were in the school compound cutting down bushes and placing beacons. I rushed to the scene, but they fled upon seeing me,” Ndichu said.
He said he notified the area chief, the subcounty director of education and area MP so action can be taken to ward off the land grabbers.
Ndichu said they will protect that section until it is partitioned and either a secondary school or a polytechnic is built.
Though people behind the plot to grab the land have not been identified, residents accused elected leaders, whom they did not name, of involvement. The trend is worrying, they said.
Thika Knut executive secretary Joe Mungai yesterday urged the national government to crack the whip on all politicians linked with school land grabs.
“It’s pitiful to see them target schools. Where will our kids go and what will their future be if these individuals with unending greed for public land remain at large?” Mungai asked.
schools need title deeds
He said the state, through the local administration, should ensure public land and especially public schools are protected for the sake of children.
The ministry of Education should work closely with the ministry of Lands and help schools fast-track the acquisition of title deeds so they are secure, he said.
“The burden of acquiring the vital documents for the schools should not be left to head teachers alone. For instance, they might have issues interpreting information as recorded in community land maps,” Mungai said.
unscrupulous brokers
He said many school heads might be transferred before completing the process of acquiring title deeds.
“Ministries must help so land grabbers can be kept at bay,” Mungai said.
The unionist warned developers seeking to buy or invest in the region to be wary of unscrupulous land brokers.
Willing buyers should first carry out a proper search with the land offices so they do not fall prey to land cartels, who only want to make money at any cost, he said.
Mungai said those who buy public land will have themselves to blame, as it will be repossessed.