Retired President Daniel Moi may have given out more than 419 acres of forest land irregularly to squatters in 1995, documents show.
Kamiti Gazetted Forest was originally declared a forest area as per proclamation No. 14 of 1933.
Subsequently, it was declared Central Forest via legal notice No. 174 of May 20, 1964, with its ownership vested with the state and the Kenya Forest Service.
However, President Moi gave out the land without following due process, a matter that is now being probed by National Assembly Lands Committee.
The committee visited the controversial parcel Friday last week.
Committee chairperson Rachael Nyamai was accompanied by committee members Joshua Kuttuny (Cherangany), Waruguru Catherine (Laikipia), Sunkuyia George Risa (Kajiado West) and Kingara Simon Ng’ang’a (Ruiru).
The Kamiti Gazetted Forest has been at the centre of protracted ownership wrangles pitting Kamiti Development Association, Kamiti Forest Squatters Association, Muungano wa Kamiti Group, Kamiti Anmer Development Welfare Group and the Kenya Forest Service.
Moi verbally gave out the land to squatters who had been displaced following post-election violence in Rift Valley in 1994.
The squatters had requested to be settled, through the late former Cabinet minister Arthur Magugu in Kirigit stadium.
The Kiambu residents had raised concern over the forest as it had become a dumping site for bodies of murder victims, carjacking and other crimes including those that occurred elsewhere.
Following the request, Moi gave a directive triggering the hiving off of the forest.
Consequently, the then minister of land JK Mulinge jump-started the process of settling, not withstanding that the land was not available for allocation.
Mulinge issued legal notice No. 179 of May 12, 1995.
However, he failed to involve the Ministry of Environment, whose main mandate covers forests in the country, in the alienation process, making the whole process null and void.
Further, KFS contends that the action was irregular as it was done without any reference to the then Forest Act CAP 385, which defines the procedure for excision of forest land.
The defunct Kiambu County Council, however, went ahead to demarcate the entire parcel, classifying it into three categories: low density population with one to five acre parcels.
The defunct council also classified medium density population with half-acre parcels and high-density with quarter and eighth-acre plots.
Public utility parcels were also set aside for establishment of a primary school, grave yard, police post and assistant chief’s office.
This was after a court ruling by Justice Ole Keiuwa who, in January 1995, ruled that there was no law requiring a county council to seek permission from KFS for approval of subdivision.
Nginyo Kariuki had filed the case.
The land was accordingly subdivided by Kiambu County Council and the issuance of allotment letters and title deeds began.
One of the groups claiming ownership of the land - Kamiti Development Association - alleges that allotment letters were issued to 1,400 beneficiaries from the group as they were the original allottees.
Phillip Kamau, who was then clerk to the Kiambu council, issued allotment letters in collaboration with district plot allocation committee.
In 2007, the process was stopped by the government following concerns that most of the land did not go to intended beneficiaries.
There have been various previous attempts to hive off the parcel.
On December 5, 1994, former Provincial Commissioner for Central Province Victor Musoga wrote to Kiambu County Council clerk requesting for the hiving off of 300 acres through his letter Ref. No. D74/1/173.
On January 17, 1995, a letter from the Attorney General addressed to the Chief Land Registrar said: “Herewith please find the draft legal notices in respect of LR. No. 8390 situated in Kiambu district, for your minister’s signature and return to us for publication.”
LR No. 8390 was however a state forest and was not available for disposition.
Various attempts to have the parcel converted compelled the KFS to place a “caveat emptor” in 2009 in the media warning unsuspecting Kenyan public not to be persuaded by proprietors who claimed to own the parcel.
The caveat said boundaries of state forests or local authority forests can only be varied by recommendation by KFS and consequently approved by resolution of Parliament.
“Further take notice that any person or persons, company or companies purporting to sell, purchase, assign and or otherwise deal with this gazetted forest land is doing so fraudulently and the alienation of any portion of this forest land is null and void,” part of the caveat says.
The caveat, according to KFS, is still in force.
Interestingly, the Kamiti Forest Squatters Association wrote to KFS via a letter referenced No. KFSA/07/013 dated July 10, 2013, acknowledging that they were illegally in the forest.
In the letter, they requested for a lease and not excision. Their request was however turned down by the KFS.
All attempts by the National Land Commission to address the sticky matter including initiating degazettement have been futile.
This is due to court injunctions as well as lack of cooperation between contending groups.
On
Saturday, Kiambu deputy county commissioner Kiarie Njuguna and the NLC asked Nyamai-led committee to fast-track the degazzettement arguing that the parcel had become security threat.
"The competing interests from people prospecting has become a serious problem," Njuguna said adding that 75 per cent of the parcel is developed.
However, the Star found out that only five per cent is developed.
Njuguna said the process of degazetting the forest had been initiated but was not completed.
The deputy county commissioner said those unhappy had formed vigilante groups which attack those developing at will.
Bellinda Akello from NLC said they have compiled a preliminary report over the parcel and is set to be handed over to the committee.
Kiambu
Lands chief officer Jotham Kilimo could not convince the committee that the title deeds that were being held by those claiming land were genuine.
"Today, we have 149 titles in people's hand, others do not have as they posses allotment letters,"he said adding that the president then wielded a lot of powers.
Kilimo said the challenge they have is ascertaining rightful owners in the ground as they lack capacity.
Already, a report of the warring groups has been compiled by the directorate of criminal investigations.
Kiambu MP Jude Njomo claimed KFS came to harvest trees when Moi gave the directive.
"KFS gave up and should get out for the people to get their right,"Njomo said.
The MP said the parcel in question has a primary school running from class one to eight and was funded by CDF.
KFS officer in charge of survey and mapping
Evans Aluda told the committee that all that had been done was illegal.
Aluda who was accompanied by Kiambu Ecosystem Conservator Paul Karanja said all the dealings that had been transacted were illegal and should remain so.
"If due process was followed, it should have started from my desk. I do not have any such documents in my possession,"Aluda said adding that minister of land did not have any power to degazzete.
Aluda said titles issued to the parcel are set to be annulled just like the over 100 belonging to Karura Forest.
He wondered why Njuguna, NLC, CID officer,Njomo and a section of committee seemed to have made decision to excise off the parcel.
Over 1,000 acres were recovered in Karura after 154 titles were revoked.
During the hearing, Muungano group members could not agree on who to address the committee.
This forced Nyamai to divide the time equally between the warring factions.
Aluda said it will make no sense for a country aiming to increase the forest cover from the current 7.2 percent to the constitutional 10 percent if the forest land is not claimed.
"If we continue to degazzete this forest, we will forget the 10 percent forest cover,"Aluda told the committee.
He said the parcel has attracted speculators owing to its location as it lies a stone throw away from the nearby Tatu City.
Environment CS Keriako Tobiko and Lands CS Farida Karoney are set to appear before the Committee.