Waitiki land beneficiaries to pay - Uhuru

President Uhuru Kenyatta issues title deed to one of the beneficiaries of the Waitiki land in Likoni on January 9, 2016 at Shikaadabu grounds. PHOTO | LABAN WALLOGA | NATION MEDIA GROUP

What you need to know:

  • Speaking during the issuance of title deeds at Shikaadabu Primary School ground, President Kenyatta said the national government had used money from the Settlement Fund Trustee to buy the 780- acre farm which has to be refunded.
  • The President dismissed calls from local leaders to waive the Sh182, 000 saying this will be going against the law that requires that such an amount must be paid to the SFT.
  • Governor Hassan Joho said that Mr Waitiki owed the County government Sh300 million in unpaid rates for 18 years saying that his government can waive the money on the squatters but not Mr Waitiki.

President Uhuru Kenyatta on Saturday told the occupiers of the controversial Waitiki Farm that they will have to pay for their title deeds.

Speaking during the issuance of title deeds at Shikaadabu Primary School ground, President Kenyatta said the national government had used money from the Settlement Fund Trustee to buy the 780- acre farm which has to be refunded. The land was initially 930 acres but the owner Evanson Waitiki had sold 150-acres.

Said the President: “Let us not play politics and tell the truth which I am going to say here. Jameni, (surely) we must pay this money so that we can assist others with the same problem like yours.”

The President dismissed calls from local leaders to waive the Sh182, 000 saying this will be going against the law that requires that such an amount must be paid to the SFT.

The MPs who called for the waiver were Masoud Mwahima (Likoni), Mishi Juma Mboko (Mombasa Woman Representative), Rashid Bedzimba (Kisauni), Badi Twalib (Jomvu) and Abdulswamad Nassir (Mvita) among others.

Instead of playing politics, President Kenyatta agreed that there were several ways that could be used to alleviate the burden of paying the required amount.

“What you should understand is that this land was not public land but private and we had to negotiate with the owner that is why we had to borrow funds from the SFT,” he said.

He said the government was ready to give the occupiers 12 years at a rate of Sh1, 000 per month at zero interest rate to lessen their burden and allow them manage their other duties and commitments.

Criticizing the leaders who spoke earlier, the President told them off warning them to stop playing politics with issues of land.

“The Sh1, 000 monthly payment to me is a very reasonable and fair deal that is manageable to most of the occupiers receiving their titles today,” he said adding if they wanted to solve the issue he was ready for it but if they did not then let it be.

Mr Mwahima thanked the President’s intervention that had brought a solution to the 20-year old Waitiki saga saying it had been a crisis causing constant tension in the area.

He pledged to mobilise Likoni voters to support President Kenyatta in the 2017 General Election.

“For the goodies you have brought us, we shall pay back in kind in 2017. Tutakufa na wewe (we shall die with you)”, he said.

Governor Hassan Joho said that Mr Waitiki owed the County government Sh300 million in unpaid rates for 18 years saying that his government can waive the money on the squatters but not Mr Waitiki.

“For the Jubilee government with a budget of Sh2.3 trillion, this money should be peanuts and the squatters should not pay a shilling,” said the Governor but reiterated that he was ready to dialogue with the national government on the issue.

The governor expressed his disappointment over the way the Waitiki land saga had been resolved without their involvement but said he was ready for any future cooperation with the national government.

“Mr President, we are ready to cooperate and work with your government but we are not ready just to be seen and not heard,” he said.