Unresolved Land issues could cost Jubilee votes in Rift valley, elders warn
Rift Valley Council of Elders chairman Mr Gilbert Kabage (right) and other officials addressing journalists in Nakuru on June 9, 2016. Unresolved historical land injustices in the Rift Valley could hurt Jubilee Party’s hunt for votes in the region, elders have warned. FILE | NATION MEDIA GROUP
What you need to know:
- Mr Kabage cited the 26,000-acre Ngongongeri land in Njoro, saying prominent people, including a governor, and a former state house comptroller owned it at the expense of the genuine land owners.
- The elders called on President Kenyatta, through the National Land Commission and the Ministry of Land, to address the cause of the conflicts, blamed mostly on historical injustices.
Unresolved historical land injustices in the Rift Valley could hurt Jubilee Party’s hunt for votes in the region, elders have warned.
The Rift Valley Council of Elders said there was need for President Uhuru Kenyatta and his deputy William Ruto to address the thorny issue of land before the 2017 polls.
“We expect the government to address matters which are likely to be a source of chaos as we approach the 2017 General Election. The incessant land conflicts could also sway their support in the vote rich region,” council chairman Gilbert Kabage said.
They called on Mr Kenyatta and Mr Ruto to provide a lasting solution to frequent land wrangles in the region through the National Land Commission.
Mr Kabage, who was accompanied by council members John Kipkogei, Mr Samuel Kiplangat, Mr John Koech, Mr Gabriel Kimani and Mr John Kahatu, said more than 10 people had been killed in the past few months in conflicts related to land.
They said local leaders had failed to address the problem, with some of them grabbing chunks of land meant for squatters and evictees.
GENUINE LAND OWNERS
Mr Kabage cited the 26,000-acre Ngongongeri land in Njoro, saying prominent people, including a governor, and a former state house comptroller owned it at the expense of the genuine land owners.
Among areas that have witnessed bloodshed due to land conflicts are Naivasha, Njoro, Molo, Kuresoi, Mai Mahiu and parts of Mau Narok on the Narok County border.
In Naivasha, a controversy over land at Ndabibi, believed to belong to the Agricultural Development Corporation but which members of the Maasai community also lay claim, led to the death of one person two months ago.
In Ngongongeri, a villager was shot dead early this year by a licensed gun holder.
The elders called on President Kenyatta, through the National Land Commission and the Ministry of Land, to address the cause of the conflicts, blamed mostly on historical injustices.
President Kenyatta and Deputy William Ruto have visited parts of the Rift Valley many times in what political pundits see as a vote hunting mission to consolidate Jubilee Party support in the vote-rich region.
