Thika MP Patrick Wainaina has called for the setting up of a land clinic in the town to address rising cases of land grabbing in the constituency.
The land clinic, he said, is to be run by the Ministry of Lands.
Wainaina, who spoke in Thika town, said he has written to Lands Cabinet Secretary Faridah Karoney and expects the ministry to establish a clinic in Thika town once the Covid-19 pandemic is contained.
Grabbers have been targeting public land such as parcels set aside for schools, police posts, hospitals, social halls, recreational facilities and land belonging to squatters, he said.
Wainaina said there have been ownership disputes and unending conflicts over land matters, especially in Kisii, Kiganjo, Kiangombe, Makongeni, Landless, Riverside, Salama and Gatuanyaga areas.
“There has been increasing complaints from residents about the grabbing of public land in many parts of the constituency. We believe the proposed land clinic will assist to assess the ownership of diverse parcels of land in disputes as well as determining ownership of public land in all the affected areas,” he said
Residents recently thwarted an attempt to grab a section of cemetery land in Thika town.
Township MCA Andrew Kimani said a five-acre land set aside for expansion of the Thika Water and Sewerage Company’s water treatment plant in Thika town has already been grabbed and subdivided.
The MCA said he has lodged a complaint with the National Land Commission over the matter.
“They have sub-divided the land into 50x100 and 100x100 plots and sold it to unsuspecting investors. They know the land is a public utility and haven’t developed it. We will mobilise residents to go and reclaim it,” Kimani said.
Wainaina noted with concern the high number of land buying and selling companies in the region which have been in operation for decades without issuing their members with the requisite ownership documents.
He said that land buying firms are the reason for the many cases of multiple allocations of land parcels that have resulted in disputes and prolonged court cases.
“There are numerous land buying companies that have been taking advantage of innocent members of the public to defraud them, and we believe the land clinic will offer a sound solution to this mess,” the MP said.
The MP is also requesting for the swift digitisation of the Thika lands registry to streamline its operations.
“Members of the public have been complaining of loss of land green cards at the Thika lands registry, leading to delays in land searches,” Wainaina said.
Squatters in Thika constituency have also suffered the brunt of the grabbers' wrath. The most affected are the Kiang’ombe squatters group and the Maasai Village Women Self-Help Group.
Milkah Wangui, the Kiang’ombe squatters chairperson said the more than 500 families were allocated the land 15 years ago, but are yet to be issued with title deeds for their 40x80 plots. She said that unscrupulous cartels have been blocking their way to access the land ownership documents.
Wangui welcomed the move to have a land clinic in Thika, saying it will bring an end to land disputes.
Edited by A.N
