KU and villagers in row over 100 acres

A tussle between Kamae residents and Kenyatta University is the latest in a spate of land disputes in the country.

Kamae villagers yesterday staged a protest against what they said were plans by the university to kick them out of a place they have lived for decades.
According KU, the villagers are occupying over 100 acres of its land illegally.

The protesters numbering about 100 were on the Kiambu by-pass on Friday threatening violence should the institution take the land. They said they were given the piece by President Jomo Kenyatta.

KU Vice-Chancellor Olive Mugenda said the villagers should leave immediately.

“The land was given to the school by President Kenyatta in the 1960s and a lease awarded for 99 years in 1977. In the early 1980s, the University Council gave 30.8 acres to 672 landless families,” she said.

SQUARTTERS

She added that some squatters kept encroaching on KU land and now occupy about 130 acres.
“We have been dealing with this issue in court for 20 years,” the VC said.

National Land Commission Vice-Chairperson Abigael Mukolwe said they had already held a meeting with Kamae residents.
“They told us that President Daniel Moi allocated them an extra 70 acres in the 1980s,” she said.

But even as the university administration pursues legal channels to get the land, three student leaders have vowed to evict the squatters by next Friday. KU Students Union President George Thuku said matters were moving slowly.

“The grabbers must go if there is to be peace. We give the lands officials seven days to evict these people, failure to which we will do it ourselves,” he said.
The VC distanced the university from the threats.

“We believe the government will handle this matter without any interference,” Prof Mugenda said.