Tunai, Ntutu allies clash in row over Maasai Mara land

Narok County Governor Samuel Tunai at a past interview. Narok MCAs now have access to Sh3 million mortgage and Sh2 million car loan. PHOTO | NATION MEDIA GROUP

What you need to know:

  • County assembly Deputy Speaker Ketuyio ole Wotuni said the land, which has a tourist lodge and a 33-year lease registered in 1990 in the name of Olkiombo Ltd, was irregularly carved out of the game reserve in 2000.
  • Naikarra Ward representative Edward Nchoe said more than 250 residents work in hotels and their livelihood might be affected if the land was taken by individuals.

A fresh dispute between Narok Governor Samuel Tunai and Senator Stephen Ole Ntutu has erupted over 4,000 acres of land in the Maasai Mara Game Reserve.

Mr Tunai has claimed recent demonstrations against his administration by some politicians came after he refused to sign a deal allowing the senator’s family to take the land.

On Wednesday, MCAs allied to Mr Tunai led residents of Talek Village in a demonstration at Olkiombo Airstrip in the reserve, demanding the revocation of a title deed issued to a relative of Mr Ntutu.

They demanded that the land be reverted to the county government.

County assembly Deputy Speaker Ketuyio ole Wotuni said the land, which has a tourist lodge and a 33-year lease registered in 1990 in the name of Olkiombo Ltd, was irregularly carved out of the game reserve in 2000.

OBTAINED FRAUDULENTLY
Mr Ketuyio said the parcel of land known as CIS Mara/ Talek/155 was obtained fraudulently because it was never adjudicated.

“Maasai Mara National Reserve is unadjudicated trust land. No titles may be issued in relation to it until the Land Adjudication Act has first been applied, so how did these people get the land?” Mr Wotuni asked.

Contacted Wednesday, Mr Ntutu refused to give details about the land, but he acknowledged that one of his younger brothers owns it.

“The matter is being handled by other arms of government, so let us give them time to unveil the truth,” he said.

He said his differences with the governor were based on governance and mismanagement of county resources and not the disputed land.

The land has more than 10 tented camps and lodges, and it is a breeding area for leopards, cheetahs, and lions, making it a prime tourist site.

COMMUNITY LAND
Addressing the demonstrators on Wednesday, the MCAs argued that the property was community land.

Naikarra Ward representative Edward Nchoe said more than 250 residents work in hotels and their livelihood might be affected if the land was taken by individuals.

“It’s therefore clear that the county government held the said land as trust land on behalf of the residents of County Government of Narok,” said Mr Nchoe.

Mr Wotuni claimed registration of land parcel No. 155 was fraudulently backdated to October 1997 to hide the fact that the fraud occurred after the 1997 General Election, when Mr Ntutu was elected to Parliament for the first time.

The parcel of land was at the centre of a protracted legal battle between the Ntutus and the defunct Narok County Council.