Rancher’s 18-year woes as squatters ignore eviction orders

While Nigel Trent has got numerous orders to evict about 70 families from his expansive 1,142-acre ranch in Laikipia County, the orders remain on paper only.

Mr Trent’s woes started in 1995, when two local employees of a neighbouring farm were arrested and convicted of trespassing on the land, but upon release the number of squatters increased to 18 people.

The ardent rancher then moved to engage the then Provincial Commissioner Yusuf Mohamed Haji and a gentleman’s agreement was reached that he buy the 18 squatters a 36-acre piece of land for them to relocate.

“I did as agreed, but they declined to occupy the newly purchased farm and instead misled other people to move in with their animals onto my land. This made it impossible for me to take possession and enjoy the fruits of my sweat. I am a Kenyan and when I purchased the land there was no one in occupation and I paid cash for the beautiful property,” he recalls.

OBTAINED EVICTION ORDERS

In 1994, Machamuka Farmers’ Co-operative Society, which then owned the parcel of land, obtained orders seeking to have the now 18 settlers evicted from the land and the agency won, and the Laikipia DC was ordered to get alternative land for the settlers.

It was after the judgment that Mr Trent agreed to purchase the ranch, where he intended to retire and develop it into a wildlife and beef ranching scheme.

But the settlers immediately launched a legal offensive by moving to the High Court in Nyeri to block their eviction, a case they lost before Lady Justice Mary Kasango, who found that the land had been vacant when Mr Trent and his son Christopher bought it from Machamuka Farmers’ Co-operative Society.

“The litigation has been lengthy and expensive. If you are not a patient man, then I do not know who is capable of waiting for 18 years to get occupation of what is legally his.

I have been to the courts, I have involved the government officers at all levels and have even engaged the parliamentary Committee on Land, but it was all in vain,” says Mr Trent.

Mr Trent's lawyer, Frank Mwangi, blamed politics for the settlers’ defiance. The first occupant of the piece of land in 1952 was a Danish national, a Mr Hanson, who sold it to a Mr Allen, who later sold it to former police commissioner Bernard Hinga and his trading partner, Mr Mohamed Ismail.

“It is these two gentlemen who later sold the same land to Machamuka Farmers, whose officials, led by their chairman John Karumba Muritu, later engaged my client for the purchase of the same.

"We have even obtained orders seeking police assistance but to no avail and we wonder where to go next even after winning our case in court,” said Mr Mwangi.

On the enactment of the new Constitution in 2010, the settlers, now numbering 373 and identifying themselves as the Leikiji community, filed a notice of motion, saying their rights to ownership of land had been trampled upon.

DISMISSED SQUATTERS' PLEA

In his judgment, Justice Anyara Emukule dismissed their plea, saying the numerous cases filed since 1994 by the applicants were unnecessary.

“The applicants lost claim against Machamuka farmers and that decision still stands as the suit property and title to the land is the same,” the judge ruled.

Hardly six months later, the applicants filed a new claim before Justice William Ouko against the Trents, the Attorney General and the Police Commissioner, saying their fundamental rights to life, dignity, property and fair administrative action, housing and children's rights had been violated.

They urged the court to impose a permanent injunction against the respondents and that they be paid exemplary and special damages for the loss of two lives, demolished houses, injuries inflicted and expenses incurred during a flopped eviction bid on June 14, 2011.

In his ruling, Justice Ouko sympathised with the applicants, saying they were only interested in the manner of eviction since the ownership dispute had long been settled.

He proceeded to dismiss damage claims against the Trents and granted the Leijiki community members 90 days to vacate from the land, including the 36-acre piece donated by the Trents and another piece donated by his sister.

The Trents’ woes reached fever pitch when Laikipia North Constituency was created and this saw an influx of herdsmen, who moved onto the farm with their children and cattle.

The Leikiji community immediately sought a delay on the impending eviction, saying they had constructed schools and needed time to vacate.

Mr Trent protested, saying no security had been placed before court to warrant such an order, but Lady Justice Roselyn Wendo granted them 45 more days.

In her ruling, delivered on March 28, 2013, Justice Wendo noted that Mr Trent and his son had suffered for many years as the Leikiji community filed case after case in a bid to frustrate their bid to occupy the land.

RIGHT TO POSSESSION

“Whereas the applicants have a right to enforce their right of appeal, the respondents too have a right to enjoy the fruits of the judgment. In this case, the respondents have the right to take possession of their land.

"I have taken into account the history of this matter in that the applicants have filed case after case, with every case being dismissed and they move yet to another forum. In considering this application, the court must carefully consider the delicate balance between the competing rights of the parties so that justice is not only done but is seen to be done,” she said and proceeded to give them 45 days to vacate.

In their petition, they had said that they were unable to immediately move out since they had built schools on the land and needed time to relocate to the new site.

They added that any move to evict them would adversely affect their bid to get teachers for the new school, but after the grace period, they failed to heed the court’s order to vacate.

The judge said that the applicants had not offered any security to warrant a stay of eviction as the petition went into full hearing, saying this was just a mere delaying tactic.

“Taking into account the history of this case this may yet be another delaying tactic because if the court grants a stay it is unknown for how long the appeal will take,” she said.

“I have sought help from Parliament, but up to now there is no light at the end of the tunnel. I hold numerous eviction orders that no police officer is willing to effect and help me take possession of my land,” he mourns.

When he sought help from the parliamentary Committee on Land, the panel suggested that the land be bought by the government and he had a valuation conducted only for the government to offer him 10.66 per cent of the new value.

18 YEARS SEEKING JUSTICE

“I cannot accept such a low sum since I have spent 18 years in the corridors of justice seeking to have the two squatters evicted before they became 18 and later 370. I know there could be 70 families who are unwilling to let me take over my land, strategically located in between two rivers — Ewaso Ng’iro and Nanyuki,” Mr Trent said.

“My land is between Impala and Ol Jogi Wildlife sanctuaries, which are high-end tourist resorts. I am willing to develop my ranch, but the squatters need to be told that someone misled them into believing the land was vacant and proceeded to move in. Now politics is involved and I do not know where to go,” laments Mr Trent.

Mr Trent was born in Kenya during the colonial era and has always lived in Kenya, doing business and farming at his expansive farm in Gilgil.

Mwangi, his lawyer, says the government must move fast and restore the sanctity of court orders by immediately evicting the trespassers.

“My client has nowhere else to go but to the courts,” he adds.