Council faulted on Moi land gift

Narok county council had no right to allocate former president Daniel arap Moi land where the multi-million Kiptagich Tea Factory lies, a government report says.

The report by the Ministry of Forestry and Wildlife on the Mau Forest said the land has never been under the council. The 2,317-acre land, according to the report obtained by the Daily Nation, is located deep inside Transmara Forest, which is one of the 22 forest blocks constituting the Mau complex.

“Transmara Forest ceased to be a Trust land forest in 1941 when it was gazetted as a forest reserve under the Forest Ordnance (Cap 176),” it said.

Transmara is an indigenous forest teeming with mixed hardwoods and covered with bamboo on the higher slopes. It forms the upper catchment of the famous Mara River and Sondu River, among other rivers and streams. The forest, covering approximately 35,271.15 hectares, is currently located in Narok South District.

The report said Transmara was gazetted as a forest reserve through Proclamation No. 102 of 1941. “This forest reserve, like all other State forests, vide Proclamation No. 174 of 20th May, 1964, was declared as Central Forest, and it is therefore a protected land, which is protected by the Forests Act, No. 7 of 2005, and the previous Forests Act, (Cap 385) of the laws of Kenya,” it said. 

Important

It added that Transmara Forest falls under a category of special lands and land territories, “which, given their ecological integrity, cultural relevance or strategic location, cannot be allocated to private individuals unless public interest dictates that they should”.

“These lands are considered so important that they must remain in the public domain. “The Government has a sacred duty to protect such land from alienation or improper use by individuals or corporate bodies,” it said. Last week, Mr Moi admitted having a stake in the Kiptagich factory.