Two tussle over ownership of 114-acre Athi-River farm

Administration Police officers in Athi-River have been thrust in the midst of a controversy where two individuals are claiming ownership of a prime piece of land. PHOTO | STEPHEN MUTHINI | NATION MEDIA GROUP

What you need to know:

  • Four APs have been assigned to guard the sheep farm in Kinanie ward, Athi-River.

  • Mr Denny Kilia says he bought the land in 2014 while Mr Paul Wachira said be purchased it in 1992.

Administration Police officers in Athi-River have been thrust in the midst of a controversy where two individuals are claiming ownership of a prime piece of land.

Four APs have been assigned to guard the sheep farm in Kinanie ward, Athi-River.

The ownership of the 114-acre farm is contested by two people, Mr Denny Kilia and Mr Paul Wachira.

Mr Denny Kilia, told the Nation that the APs were hired by Mr Wachira, who he claims wants to dispossess him of his property.

"This property is mine. I bought it legally in 2014 but there are some people who have come to grab the land, saying they also bought it. We have served them with a court order but they have not complied," said Mr Kilia.

He showed the Nation the order which he obtained on May 21 this year from the Environment and Land Court in Machakos to prevent the intruders from interfering with the property.

When the Nation toured the farm on Tuesday it witnessed heated exchange of words between the armed APs and Mr Kilia, who had gone to the farm accompanied by a group of friends.

While the APs claimed to be from the nearby Kinanie Base, Mr Paul Wachira, who says he is the owner of the farm, told the Nation that he had sourced the officers from police headquarters in Nairobi to help him protect his property from invasion.

Mr Wachira said he bought the farm in 1992 and has been rearing sheep on the farm land until recently when some people started laying claim to it.

He said that at one time he was forced to buy space on a local paper to warn against such interference.

The stand-off has continued to escalate with each side threatening to take further action.

Mr Kilia maintained that the APs must leave his land while Mr Wachira threatened to 'teach him a lesson'.