MPs have halted investigations into the disputed land leased to juice processor Del Monte Kenya Limited in Murang’a.
The National Assembly's Lands Committee made the resolution after realising it could have been dealing with a matter in court.
Del Monte managing director Stergios Gkaliamoutsasa, through company lawyer Regeru Njoroge, told the committee chaired by Kitui South MP Rachel Nyamai that there are seven active cases in court on the matter.
“It is good that we bring to the attention of the committee that there are seven cases whose rulings are coming up from next month,” Njoroge said.
Nyamai said the investigations have been put on hold and the committee will seek directions from speaker Justin Muturi.
The cases include one filed by the company in 2015 seeking to compel Murang’a county government to approve the renewal of its lease. The judgment will be delivered on September 20.
The committee has been investigating the matter after Kandara Residents Association petitioned Parliament claiming that Murang’a county government had secretly okayed the renewal of the lease which expires in 2022.
The petitioners complained that they were forcefully kicked out of their ancestral land which stretches over the parcel leased to the firm. They also alleged that the company was developing a bigger land, more than the 2,900 acres it claims to be sitting on.
Njoroge accused the petitioners of failing to disclose to Parliament that there were several cases pending in court.
“It is a requirement of the law that before a petitioner comes to Parliament, he or she must disclose the cases that are in court so that the House does not violate its Standing Orders and engage in matters sub judice,” he said.
The lawyer denied the firm was sitting on a bigger land and accused the Lands Ministry of failing to resurvey the plot as recommended by the National Land Commission.
The residents had petitioned the commission seeking to stop the planned renewal of the lease. In its report dated February 7, NLC recommended resurveying of the land to ascertain its exact size.
“The land held by the respondent (Del Monte) should be resurveyed to establish if the resident company is in possession of the land that it is not registered against it,” reads the report tabled before the committee on Thursday.
The commission further recommended that in case of surplus land, it should be surrendered to the residents for resettlement and the county government for a public purpose in the ratio of 70:30.
Njoroge said that the land has never been resurveyed despite Del Monte having written to Muranga and Kiambu executive committee members for Lands and the director of Survey to conduct the exercise.
On Tuesday, Nyamai's committee ordered the Ministry of Lands to resurvey the land and file a report to the panel in three weeks.
edited by peter obuya
