- Maasai leaders said the fight for the return of community land was not yet over
- They demanded the issue of their grabbed ancestral land be resolved through the BBI.
Image: COURTESY
Speakers at the Building Bridges Initiative fifth consultative forum in Narok have caused disquiet with their remarks on land ownership.
A section of leaders has cautioned politicians against uttering reckless statements on land, saying the matter is emotive and must be handled with care.
Nakuru Governor Lee Kinyanjui said the right to ownership of property is guaranteed by the Constitution and not “a gift from politicians.”
“Utterances attributed to a section of leaders during the Narok BBI meeting in relation to non-indigenous landowners and reclaiming land across three counties is retrogressive and ill-informed,” he stated.
He added that it was unfortunate that some sentiments are coming at a time when the nation is seeking to heal the wounds of intolerance and political incitement.
Maasai community leaders demanded the issue of their grabbed ancestral land be resolved through the BBI.
They said they will fight to have vast areas covering Naivasha, Molo, Nakuru, Mau Narok, Kedong, Kitet, Laikipia and Ndabibi reverted to the community.
Narok North MP Moitalel ole Kenta further reiterated that the Maa leadership had let down the community in pushing for its needs.
He was echoing Kajiado Governor Joseph ole Lenku's calls for land historical injustices to be resolved, citing the Kedong Ranch.
More than 30,000 squatters suffered a blow last November after a court declined to stop their eviction from a 76,000-acre land at Kedong Ranch in Mai Mahiu.
The leaders further called for the return of community land grabbed during the colonial era.
In the proposals read by Lenku, the leaders said the fight for the return of community land was not yet over.
"Let justice be our shield and defender in protecting our land and culture," Lenku said, quoting the National Anthem.
Narok Senator Ledama Olekina said as Maa leaders, they must stand firm to protect their land and territory.
“We have remained ignorant for way too long! It’s time to annoy some people by telling them the truth. Maasai land belongs to Maasai people,” Olekina posted on his social media accounts after the rally.
Nyeri Town MP Ngunjiri Wambugu said leaders should not politicise the land issue.
“Stop lying to the Maa community for short-term local politics. No land is owned by a tribe anywhere in Kenya,” he stated.
Wambugu added that land in Kenya is owned by individuals, groups or companies. “Our law also says any Kenyan can own land anywhere,” he said.
Kinyanjui said he is concerned about leaders who are seeking to hijack the BBI process to pursue selfish political agenda.
“This has led to deliberate distortions to the BBI concept of national inclusion and harmony.,” he added.
Former NASA strategist and economist David Ndii, however, said statements that Kenyans are free to own land anywhere are “self-serving legal fiction used to justify dispossession and land grabbing.”
“Why are Ukambani, Kisii, Taita-Taveta and Turkana so called? Land is ethnic territory and heritage. That is a political fact no paper can change,” he said on Twitter.
In January, when the BBI forum was held in Mombasa, governors from the Coast said BBI should address historical land injustices in the region.