Victory for pupils in school land dispute

President Kenyatta Tuesday condemned the violent manner in which a protest by schoolchildren over the grabbing of their playground was dispersed.

All public officials who failed to act on the matter before the protest will be dealt with, said President Kenyatta.

But he did not say what action would be taken against the perpetrators of the land grabbing.

He singled out the Ministry of Lands and the National Land Commission as departments that should have sorted out the matter before the protest.

As Cabinet secretaries, MPs, Nairobi Governor Evans Kidero and other top officials rushed to Lang’ata Road Primary School to apologise for Monday’s tear-gassing, President Kenyatta said the issue should not even have become a police matter if officials had acted earlier.

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“We have been reading about this matter since December and officials should have acted earlier,” he said.

Lands CS Charity Ngilu, whose ministry was one of the government departments criticised by the President, swiftly announced that action would be taken.

The President vowed that action would be taken against officers who lobbed tear gas at the children and a group of activists who brought down a wall built by the land grabber.

“The manner in which police handled those young children is deplorable and indeed action will be taken against the officers responsible. But what is more disappointing to me is the fact that we even had to get to that level,” said Mr Kenyatta.

“Why did the police have to get involved? Where was the Ministry of Lands? Where was the National Land Commission? Why did they not resolve this problem? What were they doing?” asked Mr Kenyatta.

The President said the headteacher should also answer for allowing the pupils to join the demonstration, saying they were exposed to great danger.

ENGAGING CHILDREN

“How do you allow your students to go demolish a wall? What if that wall fell on those children?” the Head of State asked.

He also hit out at the demo organisers, saying such action should have been done in a “civilised manner” without engaging children.

Five children and a police officer were injured as violence marred the demonstrations held on Monday to save the playground from a land grabber.

The injured children were treated at the Lang’ata Prison Dispensary, while two activists, Mr Irungu Houghton and Mr Boaz Waruku, were arrested.

Kenyans criticised the police for using excessive force against the children, a situation that prompted the police to issue a statement suspending the officer in charge of the operation, Lang’ata OCPD Elijah Mwangi.

Interior Cabinet Secretary Joseph Nkaissery visited the school Tuesday to offer his apologies and ordered the developer to clear the area of the debris from the demolished wall.

Mrs Ngilu pledged to be proactive in future to avert showdowns arising from land disputes.

She was speaking in Shauri Moyo, Nairobi, where she visited a disputed land that is claimed by Our Lady of Mercy Girls’ Secondary School and Ilays Trading and Transporters company.

She was accompanied by Dr Swazuri, Governor Evans Kidero and Nairobi Director of Surveys Cesare Mbaria.

The CS said the land belongs to the school but surveyors will make the final conclusion. Ilays company director Abdullahi Bulale said that though they will respect the court order asking them to vacate the premises, they have owned the land since 1992.