Lands Cabinet Secretary Alice Wahome and Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen have come under criticism from the Senate Lands Committee for failing to appear in person before it to address allegations of intimidation and the attempted seizure of land at Two Rivers Crescent Estate in Ruiru, Kiambu County.
The committee had summoned both Cabinet Secretaries to respond to claims by residents that armed goons had been deployed to harass and intimidate landowners in a long-running ownership dispute over the estate, valued at roughly Sh10 billion.
Committee chairperson Mohammed Faki told senators that Wahome had sought to be excused as she was attending a Cabinet sub-committee meeting chaired by Deputy President Kithure Kindiki, while Murkomen was attending a National Security Council meeting. Murkomen, however, submitted written responses to the committee ahead of the session, while Wahome did not.
Kiambu Senator Karungo Thang’wa criticised the absence of the Cabinet Secretaries, saying it undermined efforts to address allegations that residents had been subjected to violent attacks, attempted evictions and destruction of property.
“It is unfortunate that residents who legally acquired their land are now living in fear after being targeted by individuals acting on behalf of an untouchable person,” he said.
Thang’wa went further, directly naming Wahome as central to the residents’ troubles. “CS Wahome is a person of interest. She is actually the reason why these people are suffering. Whenever we speak, she takes us to court. She was the lawyer of Mr Kihara, then, after becoming a minister, she left the brief to her daughter,” he said, before questioning whether the man at the centre of the dispute could even be produced before the committee.
“Who is this Kihara? Does he exist and can he appear before us? The committee should give a declaration that the goons leave the land immediately,” he said.
Wahome and her daughter have both featured in the ownership dispute, which stems from the contested succession of the late former spy chief James Kanyotu. Before her appointment to Cabinet, Wahome represented Willy Kihara Njoki, who claims to be one of Kanyotu’s sons; her daughter has since taken over that legal representation.
More than 76 residents currently occupying the estate allege that Kihara has threatened them with eviction, despite each having presented him with ownership documents in their own names. Kihara maintains he is the sole beneficiary of Kanyotu’s estate and disputes the legality of the residents’ land transactions.
Residents who appeared before the committee described a pattern of escalating intimidation since Kanyotu’s death, which they said has included violent assaults, trespass, destruction of property, removal of security installations, digging of trenches, erection of fences and surveying of plots, which they said could facilitate changes to boundaries and the subdivision and resale of the land.
Two Rivers Crescent Estate chairperson Felistas Njeri Mwihia told the committee she personally paid Sh600,000 for her plot, only to watch a group of men invade the property and take control of it. Residents told the committee that court orders had previously been obtained restraining these activities.
Following the residents’ testimony, the committee issued its own directive barring further interference with the estate pending resolution of the dispute. “We direct that outsiders vacate the estate and no eviction or harassment of the residents should happen,” Faki said.
The committee subsequently ordered Wahome, Murkomen and Kihara to appear before it in person on August 6, 2026, to give a full account of the dispute. Both Cabinet Secretaries again failed to appear, missing the session for a second time.
The committee has now rescheduled their joint appearance for September 8, 2026.
The committee’s directive means the dispute will remain under scrutiny as senators seek explanations from the Cabinet Secretaries and Kihara over the allegations raised by residents and the competing claims to the estate.
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