Makuyu residents protesting against delays by Kakuzi company to resettle squattersResidents of Makuyu in Maragua subcounty, Murang’a county, on Friday took to the streets to protest against failure by a fruits processing company to resettle squatters living on its land.
The residents walked to Kakuzi offices on the Kenol-Sagana highway, demanding to be addressed by the company’s management.
But after hours of waiting and chanting at the company’s entrance, the residents aired their grievances through a loud speaker before trekking over seven kilometres to Gachagi village, where 25 families have been squatting for decades.
The families were originally 35 and belonged to elderly workers of the company whom the board of management allegedly agreed to resettle as a way of compensating them for working on its farm for years.
Andrew Thuo, who served as the community liason officer under the company, claimed that initially, about 400 acres were set aside by former directors to resettle the workers and their families.
Many other families were resettled in areas such as in Gathungururu, Thangira, Mwambu, Ngaatho, Ithanga and other villages, with some getting as much as four acres each, as Gachagi squatters waited for their turn.
The squatters started agitating for the resettlement in 2004 and formed a committee that started engaging the company on the matter.
In 2018, about 10 families were resettled on one acre plots, leaving 25 others in the camp.
But Thuo said he stopped working with the company last month after realising that efforts to follow up on deliberations were not bearing fruit.
“I have been trying to get the company to resettle the squatters and every time we agree about it, no action is taken. This has pitted me against my own community,” he said.
Maragua MP Mary Waithera addresses Makuyu residents outside Kakuzi premises.Sammy Ndata, a resident, said they have grown tired of waiting for the company to keep its word and resettle them.
He said the conditions at the Gachagi camp are dire, with many families lacking the basic sanitary amenities.
“Even the houses are made of mud and are in poor condition. The toilets are few and have plastic walls with no roof,” Ndata said.
The squatters had expressed concerns that drones used by the company to surveil its vast land invades their privacy as their bathrooms and toilets don’t have proper walls and roofs.
He further claimed some women have suffered sexual violence at the hands of the company’s security guards, who find them collecting firewood.
MP Mary Waithera, who accompanied the squatters, vowed to ensure protests are held every week until the company budges.
She said she has been part of efforts to resettle the squatters and has attended about six meetings at the company's offices.
The meetings, the MP added, were also attended by administrators and a Memorandum of Understanding drawn.
Waithera said stakeholders were at some point taken by the company’s managers to the 35 acres set aside for resettlement of the squatters and beacons had been erected on the land.
The MP expressed her shock and frustration with the company’s failure to follow up on what was agreed upon in the MoU, saying the delay is subjecting the squatters to unimaginable humanitarian suffering.
She urged human rights organisations to join the fight and help the families get their right while improving their living conditions.
The families are forced to bury their loved ones in public
cemeteries and are unable to engage in farming activities, forcing them to
depend on casual jobs.
Police officers guard Kakuzi company's entrance in Makuyu, Maragua, during demonstrations by residents on July 25, 2025The company had in 2020 gone through turbulent times after some of its international buyers stopped buying their products due to human rights issues.
“Even now, we are calling upon their buyers to stop buying their
products until they stop subjecting these families to suffering. If the land
has been set aside to resettle them, why the delay?” she wondered.
On May 29 this year, the company’s executive head of
corporate affairs Simon Odhiambo denied the firm ever promised to ‘gift’
any of its land holdings to Gachagi residents as alleged.
“Over the years, a mutually agreed upon MoU has been in
place between the residents and Kakuzi. It permits specific community members, who are parties to the MoU, to occupy a portion of our land, measuring 10 acres
in consideration of an annual fee and adherence to set conditions,” he said.
“Recently, a section of Gachagi residents have challenged this
MoU and the matter is before the National Land Commission and the courts,
where we await determination”.
Odhiambo also defended the use of drones, saying they are
used to ensure there’s security on its vast orchard.
But Deputy President Kindiki Kithure, who attended an
empowerment forum at Kimorori grounds in Kenol on Friday, donated Sh2 million to help the
families construct better houses.
Kindiki was responding to MP Waithera’s request for help.
Instant Analysis
The squatters started agitating for resettlement in 2004 and formed committee that started engaging the company on the matter. In 2018, about 10 families were resettled on one-acre plots, leaving 25 others in the camp. Other families were resettled in areas such as in Gathungururu, Thangira, Mwambu, Ngaatho, Ithanga and other villages, with some getting as much as four acres each, as Gachagi squatters waited for their turn.
