The Mai Mahiu-Narok road is a beehive of activity as construction of the Sh6.9 billion Naivasha Industrial Park and special economic zone gets underway.
It's where the standard gauge railway and Inland Container depot will meet.
A month after President Uhuru Kenyatta launched works on the special economic zone and opened the Mai Mahiu SGR terminus, the land nearby is crawling with tractors, excavators and lorries.
They're working on the roads and fence for the industrial park that will include the Inland Container Depot (ICD) that will be served by the SGR.
In the nearby town of Mai Mahiu, tens of land offices have sprung up, selling all manner of property for buyers who want to take advantage of the business boom.
Unscrupulous brokers also offer imaginary 'land next to the SGR and the park'.
In two years, the price of land has soared. An acre that sold for Sh100,000 a couple of years ago now sells for Sh1 million.
Land disputes have arisen, mainly due to lack of legal documents proving ownership of the land.
The management of Kedong Ranch has donated 1,000 acres for construction of the industrial park and dry port.
It has agreed to resettle communities displaced by the project on another 4,000 acres.
The Cabinet has already approved Sh6.9 billion for this project that will transform this area and offer job opportunities and revenue for this county.
Of the 1,000 acres, South Sudan, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi and the Democratic Republic of Congo governments are to receive 10 acres each.
The government already has gazetted the area as a special economic zone. The second phase of the standard gauge railway terminates in the lakeside town.
Nakuru Governor Lee Kinyanjui said the county has banned any land subdivision around the zone.
“The Cabinet has already approved Sh6.9 billion for this project that will transform this area and offer job opportunities and revenue for this county,” he said.
The subdivision ban is meant to stop the mushrooming of informal settlements and unplanned structures around the industrial park.
“We are working closely with the national government to come up with a master plan for this area so that we can stop unplanned and illegal structures,” the governor said.
Since the land was identified for an economic zone, there's a scramble for land, so early planning is necessary.
The government has set aside Sh700 million for drilling and water supply to the park nearby roads are being improved, Kiunjui said.
Naivasha subcounty commissioner Mbogo Mathioya said the land set aside for the park and the dry port has already been secured.
Last month, his office and the department of Lands fast-tracked the issuance of a title deed for the 1,000 acres, Mathioya said.
“We have been informed of some people trying to illegally sell part of Kedong Ranch but we can assure investors that the 1,000 acres set aside for the dry port are intact,” he said.
The commissioner said the process of resettling tens of families that will be displaced by the port has started. He said the 4,000 acres donated by the ranch will be shared among families and host schools and public facilities.
“The real number of the persons affected by this project is still a source of debate but we are working with the community leaders to address this issue,” he says.
Elder Mike Roka from the Kitet-Sission community said they welcome donation of the 4,000 acres.
Roka said the community went to court in 2003 and has been fighting with the Kedong management over their compensation.
“After years of a court battle, Kedong agreed to compensate us with 4,000 acres, which we accept. We are ready to move in," he said.
The community supports the dry port and industrial park, he said, and is discussing compensation for affected families with the government.
Elder Joseph Kishau said more than 5,000 people will be displaced but they support the projects that will transform the area and create jobs.
“Tens of families will be affected and some schools will be brought down and we will first negotiate with the State before relocation,” he said.
A splinter group has tried to seek more land from Kedong and went to court; their petition was dismissed.
Chairman Stephen Muiru of Utheri wa Lari Farm where a section of the SGR and the industrial park lies said some pastoralists are yet to vacate from their land despite winning a court case in 2015.
“The majority of those claiming to own land around this area are outsiders from Narok and Kajiado counties who want to reap where they never sowed," Muiru said.
He said that 35 acres of their land will contain operations of the industrial park, making it hard to kick out encroachers from their 22,000 acres.
Construction of the industrial park has increased the illegal scramble for land in this area and it's time government imposed its authority.
“The Court of Appeal dismissed a case by the Maasai over ownership of this land but with the support of some political leaders, some families they have refused to move out,” he said.
Former chairman of the Nakuru County Council John Murigu said it's urgent to address land disputes.
He said farmers from Nyakinyua Farm have title deeds, however, hundreds of pastoralists are invading their parcels.
“Construction of the industrial park has increased the illegal scramble for land in this area and it's time government imposed its authority," Murigu said.
Economist Moses Ochien’g has termed the land rush normal and said it will escalate.
Failure by the courts to resolve some protracted land cases in time has fuelled the disputes; as a result, communities and unscrupulous buyers taking advantage of the situation, he said.
“This is one of the largest investments the government is undertaking and there will be disputes over the land as it emerges that some owners do not have title deeds,” Ochieng' said.
(Edited by V. Graham)
