Wako ‘failed to advise State over IDP land’

• Maasai elders claim parcel taken from them in 70s and say case still in court

The Attorney-General failed to advise the government against buying a parcel of land to resettle displaced families in Nakuru County.

According to a group of Maasai elders, AG Amos Wako was aware that a case over the ownership of the 2,400-acre parcel in Mau Narok was in court.

“He failed in his duty. However, he should now move fast and cancel the deal until the matter that the community has filed in the High Court over its ownership is resolved,” the elders’ spokesperson, Mr Daniel ole Kiptunen, said.

The government bought the land to resettle the IDPs from a prominent wheat farmer last month, sparking a stand-off with the local community that claims that the land was fraudulently taken away from them in the 1970s.

Mr Kiptunen said the status quo should be maintained until the matter is resolved.

“We are always told the era of impunity is over. If the government can break the law, then how does it expect Kenyans to uphold it?” he posed.

Speaking in Narok Town, the elders said the community should not be forced to accommodate the displaced people, because the relationship between them will not be cordial.

“If the government wants us to live in peace, it should resolve the ownership matter before carrying out the resettlement,” they added.

At the same time, former Trade minister Mukhisa Kituyi has backed the elders, saying the government ought to have consulted them before setting the land aside.

“In the new constitutional dispensation, the central government has no business meddling in county affairs,” Dr Kituyi said on the sidelines of a meeting on the constitution’s implementation in Nairobi.