Glaring Legal Tussle Looms As Two Men Face ‘Baba Yao’ Over Encroachment Of Land.

Duncan Macharia (left) and Njiri Kariuki display documents they claim ascertain their legal ownership of the section of land that the exit road near Blue Post bridge was hived off by Kabete MP Ferdinand Waititu and his Thika Town counterpart Alice Ng’ang’a.

Two Thika businessmen have threatened to institute legal action against Kabete MP Ferdinand Waititu and his Thika Town counterpart Alice Wambui Ng’ang’a for what they refer to encroaching on their parcel of land near the Blue post bridge in Thika.

Displaying title deeds and other legal documents to prove ownership, Duncan Macharia and Njiri Kariuki said that the section of land that the exit road off Haile Selassie Rd. to Thika Superhighway was actually deep inside their land and was not part of the riparian reserve as claimed by the two legislators.

Njiri, who claims to have inherited this parcel from his parents, said that all documents related to this piece had been verified with Survey of Kenya Headquarters in Nairobi and it was evident that the road had encroached more than three-quarters of the affected parcel.

“When Kiambu County Government officers previously came to check the possibility of putting up this road, I showed them the beacons and were satisfied that we haven’t encroached on the riparian reserve. I was therefore very shocked to see these leaders just invade on my land, even before following the right procedure,” said Njiri.

Njiri said that theirs was a cry for justice as they did not have the financial or political might to fight the two. He therefore appealed to institutions that fight for the rights of the meek to come to their rescue.

Macharia, who bought the land in 2013, claimed that his plea for audience with the two legislators were met with deaf ears and was even threatened by some of those present at the site.

“I bought this half an acre plot of land in 2013. I was in the process of developing it before this happened. No one bothered to request me to use my part of land for any reason and am therefore shocked if leaders can disregard the law for political expedience. If this is the kind of leadership they want to bring to Kiambu, then we are doomed,” said Macharia.

He added that Hon. Waititu attempted to calm him down by promising him that he would seek ways to compensate him for the losses and damages when he assumed power as the governor,

“My worry is, if he never bothered to ask me now, how sure am I that I will get justice when they are in power? I have therefore instructed my lawyer to institute legal action against this encroachment,” he said.

Kiambu County Roads Chief Officer Lucas Mwangi Wahinya denied any involvement by the devolved government in this whole saga saying that nobody consulted them before going ahead and hiving off this part of the road.

“As a department, we were never consulted. However, we cannot ascertain if the road is on someone’s land as we have not yet gone to the site. As the county government we can only advise the aggrieved to seek redress through the right channels if for sure there is an encroachment on his land,” said Wahinya.

Wahinya added that plans to construct a major bridge along the river and expand that part of the road were at an advanced stage.