More Than 1,500 Families In Thika Facing Eviction After Their Land Is Fraudulently Sold To A Private Developer.

More than 1,500 families in Thika are desperately pondering their next move especially now that the rains have started pounding after a private developer invaded their land in. This investor is now threatening them with eviction as he has vowed to go ahead with his construction plans.
Maasai Village Women Self-Help Group claims their seven-acre parcel of land near Kiang’ombe Estate, Thika has been irregularly sold.

“This land was given to us in early 1990s by the Government as a reward for supporting it during the multiparty revolution. We have not sold any part of our land to anyone and we are not intending to do so. We shall not accept our land to be taken away,” said Peter Ndukuthio, the group’s chairperson.

He said that, as a society, they had not contracted any broker to sell the land on their behalf, adding that this particular investor was conned.

Speaking on the disputed piece of land late last week where they held a special general meeting, the members ratified a proposal to write to President Uhuru Kenyatta and Lands Cabinet Secretary Jacob Kaimenyi seeking their help over the matter.

A week earlier, hell broke loose when more than a hundred group members stormed the construction site where the investor is said to be putting up a factory, forcing him and his contractor to run for their dear life as the irate members bayed for their blood.

A standoff ensued between the group members and armed youth who were guarding workers at the site.  It took the intervention of the police from Makongeni Police Station to calm down the situation.
The group claimed that it had already paid Sh6 million to the Survey Department for demarcation and were only waiting to be issued with title deeds.

“We have information to the effect that a known land broker is working with a senior official formerly working at the Ministry of Lands offices in Thika to transfer the seven acres to the unsuspecting investor,” said Kamunyo.

During the weekend meeting, members also unanimously resolved to seek a restriction order from the court in order to stop any further construction on the land. The investor claims he bought the land from a broker at the cost of Sh45 million.