Kiambu leaders are at odds over how 635 acres ceded by Del Monte Kenya Ltd will be utilised.
The fruit-processing company surrendered the land in Gatuanyaga ward, Thika subcounty, when the Kiambu government agreed to renew the firm’s lease of 8,000 acres.
Governor Ferdinand Waititu last week was at loggerheads with Thika Town MP Patrick Wainaina on how the surrendered land will be used.
The MP suggested the land be used to put up hospitals, schools and markets and light industries. But the governor said the land will be used to settle slum dwellers who do not have land in Kiandutu slums.
The county government had earlier indicated the 110 acres Kiandutu slums land would be subdivided and 30,000 residents issued with title deeds.
The governor last Wednesday said the population in the slums has surpassed the number of title deeds to be produced and the county needs to find more land in Thika subcounty to settle them.
“Apart from putting up schools and industries, we must find a piece of land that will be shared among residents. The more than 600 acres is huge and there’s no one else we are waiting to allocate,” Waititu said.
He said the land is for poor Thika residents and no developer will get a share of it. “We must share the land,” the governor said.
But Wainaina said dividing the land among residents will cause chaos, as everyone will seek to get a piece.
He said to avoid trouble, the land should only be limited to public utilities and industries that will boost the economy.
“The land is not enough to be subdivided among locals and doing so will only bring wrangles. I’m opposed to the idea of settling people there,” Wainaina said.
He said the land is a heritage for Thika residents and nothing should be done on the land until public participation is conducted and proper consultations held.
The governor said the county government will soon hold public participation with Thika residents, but he opposed other suggestions by the MP.
During the MoU signing in which the firm ceded the 635 acres, Waititu said 200 acres would be given to the Kenya Airports Authority to build an airstrip.
Another row simmering is between Gatuanyaga residents, who live on the surrendered land, and the squatters whom Waititu is suggesting to settle. Residents in October, led by their chairman David Chege, warned they will not allow outsiders to be settled on the land. They claimed they should be the sole beneficiaries.
Other county leaders, including Woman Representative Gathoni Wamuchomba and Senator Kimani Wamatangi have criticised the agreement between the county government and the firm. They said the process was hurried and important issues were overlooked.
The leaders have also differed on the acreage of the ceded land. MPs Wainaina and Wamuchomba have claimed the land surrendered was 1,000 acres, not 635 acres.