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.
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