State House land grab probe starts
What you need to know:
- The chairman said Mombasa State House, Mtito Andei State Lodge, Nakuru State House, Eldoret, Kakamega, Cherangani, Kisumu and Rumuruti State Lodges’ land had been hived off.
- Dr Swazuri told the Nation from Cherangani in Trans Nzoia County that some of the grabbers had started putting up property while others were preparing deed plans for development.
An investigation is under way to establish how thousands of acres belonging to State Houses and State Lodges were grabbed by individuals.
National Land Commission (NLC) chairman Mohammad Swazuri said eight sites are in private hands.
The chairman said Mombasa State House, Mtito Andei State Lodge, Nakuru State House, Eldoret, Kakamega, Cherangani, Kisumu and Rumuruti State Lodges’ land had been hived off.
Dr Swazuri told the Nation from Cherangani in Trans Nzoia County that some of the grabbers had started putting up property while others were preparing deed plans for development.
“In Eldoret, the beacons used to alienate the land are fresh. They could have been put there last week,” the chairman said.
MAPS 'INTERFERED WITH'
“There is confusion as, at the moment, we are not able to authoritatively say how much State land has been taken because the maps were interfered with,” Dr Swazuri said.
He said that in Kisumu, grabbers who had allocated themselves land had already drawn the Part Development Plan.
“We have blocked any development from taking place within the Kisumu State Lodge land as we continue with investigations,” the chairman said.
Dr Swazuri, however, said Cherangani State Lodge is neglected. Hundreds of acres of land are at the mercy of unscrupulous dealers.
He estimated that the land belonging to the lodge, which had been grabbed and sub-divided, is about 300 acres. The lodge was allocated 700 acres.
Recently, when President Uhuru Kenyatta visited Trans Nzoia County, local leaders requested that the lodge be converted into a university.
