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Late former MP's house torched in land dispute

Residents said  former President Moi gave them the land in 1994 and 1997 under the ADC

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by maryann chai

Eastern29 April 2019 - 09:10
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In Summary


• Many frightened families have been displaced and forced to seek refuge in Uganda. 

• Tractors manned by security officers are cultivating the lands.

A burnt house at Chepchoina Settlement Scheme

Two houses were torched on Sunday night torched Robinson village at the disputed Chepchoina Settlement Scheme along the West Pokot-Trans Nzoia border. 

One of the houses razed belongs to the late former Sigor MP Wilson Litole.

Squatters at the scheme have been evicted them from the lands they have occupied for more than 20 years every planting season.   

Many families have been displaced and forced to seek refuge in Uganda out of fear.

Other affected families are sleeping in bushes and are in urgent need of food aid, shelter and drugs.

A spot survey in the scheme showed that tractors manned by security officers are cultivating the fields.

The families accused the government of bringing in developers and brokers to take up their lands and displace them.  They have faulted brokers for interfering with the land.

The squatters yesterday accused security officers of causing unrest among residents, bias in handling land matters, taking bribes and harassing settlers. 

They are demanding the government address the long-standing dispute, which they say is taking too long to resolve. 

The residents claimed they were each allocated five acres of land each at the scheme under the Agricultural Development Cooperation 1994 and 1997 by former President Daniel Moi.

 
 

They said they are being frustrated by the government and said it has 'short-changed and turned against them'.

Richard Mwareng, Litole's brother, said the former MP had bought the land from ADC. 

“We don’t know who came to burn the houses or their motive,” Mwareng said. 

Squatter John Krop said, "We wonder why we are being evicted from the land that we have occupied for so long. This is wrong for government officers who are making our life hard. We want proper investigations."

However, Trans Nzoia deputy county commissioner Peter Maina dismissed the claims, saying there are two court orders; one of status quo and the second cautioning residents against meddling in the land, erecting structures or cultivating it.

 “We have proposed to the county government to give us another parcel so that we can solve this issue,” Maina said. 

(Edited by R.Wamochie)


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