A glimmer of hope sparkles from a distance for thousands of residents across the disputed South Ngariama land as the government is set to conduct a land adjudication process.
The process will set in motion the titling of the 17,000 acre piece of land and subsequent ownership to thousands of allottees.
A Kirinyaga lands and environment court late last year directed the ministry to resolve the disputes accordingly and in May 2023 give a report on the progress.
Officials drawn from the Ministry of land, county government and administration officials Thursday assured residents in a heavily guarded public engagement that the process will be run smoothly and within the full confines of the court directives.
They further assured residents of their commitment to end the wrangles that have rocked the land for over three decades saying they don’t have to live in fear of losing their land again.
Assistant Director for Adjudication and Settlement in the Ministry of Lands, Ezekiel Kiania, called for cooperation from the residents so as to fast track the process.
He further called on the residents not to fall prey to false information or incitement as he reiterated that his department will not be subdivide the land afresh but will instead be assessing the quality of processes done so far by the relevant departments.
He also said that they will be registering the lands in accordance to documents presented by the alottees.
“We will not be here to give you land, we are here to register your land so that the titling process can begin. So, be armed with the requisite documents that prove that the land you claim is indeed yours,” he told hundreds of attendees.
Kiania said his department will as well handle with high level of legal competence and transparency any dispute that should arise in the course of the exercise.
His sentiments were echoed by Irungu Kagwe from the same department who called on the locals to exercise patience and trust the process.
He assured the residents that they will in a fair manner, elect their representatives who will join the land adjudication committee that will be helping in the exercise.
County Woman Rep Njeri Maina said that Parliament through the Justice and Legal Affairs Committee which she is a member will continue monitoring the process to its fruitful conclusion.
Maina maintained that she is neither a potential beneficiary of the disputed land nor interested in securing any parcel.
She said that her intentions are clear in helping the targeted land owners secure their land expeditiously.
The CECM for lands, Rev. Samuel Kanjobe said that the county government had no other interest than to ensure that the land matter was permanently settled.
He urged residents to cooperate and ensure the process was successfully concluded adding that there was political goodwill to have the residents get their land ownership documents.
The CEC urged the residents to ignore naysayers who are out to mislead them in order to derail the process.
County commissioner Moses Ivuto urged the residents to be patient and peaceful in the course of the exercise.
He further cautioned the inciting characters saying the government will not allow the process to be delayed.
