Kipsigis to appeal land loss to Maasai in Transmara West

The Kipsigis community will move to the Court of Appeal after losing ownership of 6,300 acres to the Maasai in the High Court in Narok.

The disputed land is in Angata Barigoi in Transmara West subcounty and the two communities have argued over it for 40 years.

Last week, Environment and Land Court judge Mohammed Kullow directed the Kipsigis to vacate the land in 60 days but allowed a 90-day stay as they were preparing an appeal.

“After the expiry of these 90 days, the plaintiff  (Maasai community] will be at liberty to apply for eviction orders,” Kullow said.

He also ordered cancellation and nullification of title deeds of Angata/Baragoi/3 after they were erroneously issued, saying they encroached and overlapped Transmara/Moyoi/2.

Kipsigis lawyer Kimutai Bosek said they are disappointed, adding the court ignored a serious issue of law.

“There is no kind of justification for the kind of judgment delivered. We are heading to the Court of Appeal to dissect the decision and ensure justice is served to my clients,” Bosek said.

He criticised the ruling, saying the plaintiff - the Angata Baragoi Cooperative Society that claims the land - does not exist.

“This cooperative society was dissolved in 1958 and two years later they tried to revive it through a Gazette notice by the commissioner of cooperatives. The law is clear that under such circumstances, reviving can [only] be done through the High Court or a minister's directive.

"That is why we are saying the court missed points of law,” Bosek said.

He called the judgment "a recipe for violence as it will affect more than 8,000 people who know the area as their only home".

Angata Barigoi MCA Gabriel Mibei said the land in dispute was awarded by the Maasai elders to the Kipsigis community along with a demarcation map that shows the actual boundary.

But Maasai community lawyer Adalla Joy said that she is happy after her clients got justice after suffering for a long time.

“My clients are now happy after the court made a fair ruling because they realised there are the rightful land owners,” Joy said.

Emurua Dikirr MP Johana Ng’eno called for alternative dispute resolution outside the court, saying they want a win-win situation for the two communities.

Speaking during a thanksgiving ceremony in Angata Barikoi on Saturday, Ng'eno urged the Kipsigis community to remain calm as they look for ways to resolve the matter.

“As leaders from Transmara, we will organise a meeting with the leadership of the two communities and find a lasting solution,” the legislator said.

(Edited by V. Graham)