A family in Malindi wants the government to help it get back more than 200 acres of ancestral land allegedly grabbed by tycoons.
The Charo Shutu family also does not want their name to appear in the list of the most notorious gangs any more as they were cleared by a court four years ago.
Family members claim they recovered 477 acres but are yet to repossess 280 acres. They spoke during the 11th death anniversary of their patriarch Charo Shutu, a popular traditional dancer and healer who used to perform for Presidents Jomo Kenyatta and Daniel arap Moi in Ngalla.
Family head Japheth Noti, alias Janja, has battled for 36 years to get back the family land.
He said tycoons used their wealth and influence in government to frustrate the family.
Noti said the “land grabbers” portrayed the family as a dangerous gang to forcibly acquire their ancestral land.
He said their land began from the Kenya Industrial Estates to Sir Ali Bin Salim Primary School in Malindi town.
“My father showed me the boundaries of our land way back in 1972,” Noti said.
He said the battle for the land heightened in 1988, when tycoons and powerful individuals came up with plans of adjudicating the family land.
“We opposed the adjudication and evicted anyone who attempted to step on our land, and we promised never to let them grab our land,’’ Noti said.
He said he visited the Lands offices in Nairobi to seek documents but his family back home faced police harassment.
“Me and other family members were constantly arrested and detained falsely, but I stood firm and continued to fight for justice,” Noti said.
“I will not relent until we get our land back.”
