MPs, governor seek surrender of land
What you need to know:
- Leaders issued an ultimatum to the Teita Sisal Estate to surrender more than 70,000 acres of land they were occupying failing which they would mobilise residents to take it over.
- Teita Sisal Estate Managing Director Mr Phillip Kiryaz did not pick calls made by the Nation to his cell phone at 12.30pm to get his response to the leaders’ ultimatum and allegations
The Taita Taveta governor and three MPs from the county on Sunday demanded the surrender of part of a sisal estate they allege was encroached into in Mwatate.
Governor John Mruttu alongside MPs Thomas Mwadeghu (Wundanyi), Andrew Mwadime (Mwatate) and Women Representative Joyce Lay issued an ultimatum to the Teita Sisal Estate to surrender more than 70,000 acres of land they were occupying failing which they would mobilise residents to take it over.
“We are starting with this one and after that we will move to Voi and Taveta. Locals who also own huge chunks of land should be prepared to explain how they got it while a bigger portion of the population continues to live as squatters,” Mr Mwadeghu said.
He said the declaration they made in a meeting organised by the National Land Commission last week nullified all land leases issued on more than 1,000 acres.
Because of this resolution, all such land owners would not be spared and should either cooperate with the locals or face their wrath.
“I know Intelligence officers could be here to claim that we are inciting people but this cannot be the case because the entire community cannot be held at ransom by one or two individuals,” he said.
Teita Sisal Estate Managing Director Mr Phillip Kiryaz did not pick calls made by the Nation to his cell phone at 12.30pm to get his response to the leaders’ ultimatum and allegations.
Speaking during a thanks giving meeting hosted by Mwasima Mbuwa Welfare Association at Mwatunge in Mwatate,Mr Mwadeghu took a swipe at the governor saying he was not bold enough to address land problems in the county and take head-on, those suspected to have acquired land irregularly in the county.
“It is time for Governor Mruttu to take charge and evoke his constitutional powers to demand for the records immediately before the two weeks ultimatum elapses failure to which we will eject him by force,” he said.
EMOTIVE ISSUE
Mr Mwadime said much as land was described as an emotive issue, time had come for the rights of the local community to be considered.
He said the Coast region had been taken for granted by some wealthy families who keep on threatening locals with court cases while depriving them of their rights to own land.
Mrs Lay said the ‘Year of Jubilee” for rectifying the land injustices in the county had dawned.
“We are no longer going to allow our people to be squatters when two or three people are occupying the whole county,” she said.
Mr Mruttu said his government was reorganising its land office to enable it handle land matters in the county.
“We have employed an expert as the Chief Lands Officer to streamline the department but the major problem was with the officers the County government inherited from the national government,” he said.
Mr Mruttu said that for last one year he has been in office, it has not been easy to get vital information which he wanted to use to settle some disputes.
However, he promised that starting this week, he would send surveyors to the affected farm to establish the boundaries which the community claims were tampered with.
