The government has put land grabbers in Thika, Kiambu county, on the spot over increased theft of public utilities.
Interior Cabinet Secretary Prof Kithure Kindiki raised concern over the rampant encroachment and theft of land parcels set aside for establishment of public utilities.
Speaking during the groundbreaking ceremony for Sh20 million new police divisional headquarters for Thika West at Ngoingwa estate on Monday, the CS said that the unscrupulous land cartels are an impediment to major developments in the region.
Kindiki said that the notorious criminals are leaving nothing to chance to satisfy their insatiable appetite for public land, saying that several land parcels set aside for construction of police station, markets, schools, hospitals, markets and social halls, among other amenities, have been grabbed.
He said that the parcel where the new police station will be built had already been grabbed by some well-connected individuals and a section of the parcel had already been fenced. Also, palatial homes have been built on a section of the land that the area community had set aside for public amenities.
“Those grabbing public land where facilities like police station could be built are like the terrorists who are terrorising innocent people. They should be warned that the government will use its powers and tools to protect public land,” Kindiki said.
The instructed the Central Region security team to begin reclaiming of all stolen public parcels to facilitate establishment of public utilities, adding that the war against theft of public property is on.
Thika MP Alice Ng’ang’a, who accompanied Kindiki during the ceremony,said that all the stolen public property within the constituency will be recovered and the grabbers arrested for delaying construction of public utilities.
In the plan for construction of a new police headquarters at Ngoingwa, the Interior ministry will contribute Sh10 million while Thika NG-CDF will contribute Sh10 million, a move that residents say will beef up their security and enable them to go about their businesses at any time uninterrupted.
“No grabber has space in Thika and even those who have already stolen what belongs to the people should start having sleepless nights because we are coming for you. We must protect what belongs to the public for posterity,” the MP said.
Ngoingwa residents lauded the initiative to recover stolen public property, saying that as a result of grabbing, they are forced to walk for kilometres to access various services, such as hospital, policing and markets.
The residents called on the government to swiftly recover the prime land to also facilitate construction of a school, saying in the current state, their children are forced to walk many kilometres to access Kisiwa Primary, the only existing public school in the populous locality.
“A section of this land was allocated for construction of a public primary school but it has since ended up in the hands of individuals who have already got hold of land ownership documents through crooked means. We are pleading for swift action from the government,” resident Maureen Wambui said.
