- The MP states that Galana Ranch Scheme spans over 1.75 million acres and was established in 1968.
- In April, ADC chairman Nick Salat wrote to Lands CS Farida Karoney protesting the invasion of the land in Galana.
Garsen MP Ali Wario wants the Agricultural Development Corporation land in his constituency degazetted.
The lawmaker has petitioned the National Assembly's Committee on Land on behalf of the residents of Garsen in Tana River county.
In the public petition No. 031 of 2021, the MP states that Galana Ranch Scheme spans over 1.75 million acres and was established in 1968 as a game and trading company.
That was before it was acquired by the national government through ADC to provide a buffer zone between Tsavo National Park and surrounding communities, to undertake beef ranching, off-take management during drought as well as for production of biogas.
In April, ADC chairman Nick Salat wrote to Lands CS Farida Karoney protesting the invasion of the land in Galana, Kilifi county.
Salat said 301,350 acres of the land had been encroached on and the invaders have started erecting illegal structures there.
ADC, which owns about 1.7 million acres in the area, said it is the registered owner of the Galana land and the title deed is in its name.
The petition indicated that through the intervention of former President Mwai Kibaki in 2006 and President Uhuru Kenyatta in 2013, ADC was directed to release 250,000 acres to residents of Assa and Kone locations near Tsavo East National Park.
Pastoralists were granted access to the River Galana Watering Corridor.
“The proposed subdivision involves 100-acre blocks totaling 200,000 acres categorised as small scale, 10-acre blocks totaling 300,000 acres categorised as settlement schemes and 10,000-acre blocks totaling 400,000 acres categorised as large scale.
"Another 5,000-acre blocks totaling 200,000 acres are categorised as medium scale one, and 1,000-acre blocks totaling 200,000 acres categorised as medium scale two under the Galana Ranch Scheme,” the petition states.
Wario says the proposed subdivisions will adversely affect the entire community, which primarily depends on the land to graze their large number of livestock.
He said this will create a potential for protracted conflicts in future due to inadequate grazing land.
“The 250,000 acres earmarked for the community is extremely inadequate, and ought to be increased to a minimum of 600,000 acres in view of the current demand for grazing land,” Wario says, adding that efforts to have these proposed subdivisions revised by the relevant authorities have not yielded fruit.
Edited by Henry Makori