Kirinyaga County Government has repossessed over 800 acres of public land valued at about Sh1 billion that had been grabbed by private entities.
The unscrupulous individuals grabbed the prime parcels scattered mainly in major towns across the county during the defunct local authority’s period.
The lands were earmarked for hospitals, court and police stations, markets, schools, irrigation dams, bus terminals and playfields among other social amenities.
Kirinyaga County Governor Anne Waiguru warned that her administration would not spare any effort to recover all grabbed public land and asked those still sitting on such to surrender the same to the government.
“Safeguarding public land from being grabbed is important because such land is meant to serve the collective good, not private interests. Public land holds schools, hospitals, parks, forests, and infrastructure. Public land is often allocated for future development projects like roads, affordable housing, and public utilities. If grabbed, these plans are disrupted,” she said.
The governor added that preserving public land also helped in conserving the environment, forests, wetlands and water catchment areas which maintain biodiversity, prevent pollution and protect natural resources.
“Properly managed public land also attracts investment, supports agriculture, housing, and industry, boosting the economy. If we had allowed the 242 acres of land at Thigirici to be taken away, we would not have gotten land to construct the Sagana Industrial Park,” she added.
County Executive (CEC) for Lands, Physical Planning and Urban Development Rev. Samuel Kajombe said the County Government is still pursuing recovery of several other parcels of land in court.
“We have several ongoing court cases that seek to recover grabbed public land. We are optimistic the County Government will win and get the land back for the benefit of the community,” Kajombe said.
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Among land that the County Government has filed a case in court seeking to recover include that designated for the Gichugu Law Court and Kianyaga police station whose ownership is being claimed by an individual.
The others include; 18 hectares reserved for Murinduko dam and experimental farm, 700 acres of the South Ngariama land meant for a police station, markets, government offices, hospital, water points, playgrounds, schools and other social amenities.
Kajombe said some of the public land was grabbed by individuals who had been compensated with alternative land after the government acquired their land for development.
“These individuals did not surrender title deeds of the parcel of land that had been acquired by the local authority and because the land was not immediately put into use, they quietly returned and some sold it to unsuspecting Kenyans,” he said.
One of the critical pieces of land that has been recovered from grabbers is the 242 acres where the County Government is constructing the Sagana Industrial Park.
Other parcels of land that have been recovered include that of the Kerugoya affordable housing project and clothes market, the proposed Kutus bus park, the Mwea “red soil” land for rice research centre and the Baricho stadium and Nyangati MCA offices land.
– By Mutai Kipng’etich
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