On the afternoon of December 30, an octogenarian, Mr Melubo Ole Tirike, sat on a wooden chair outside his semi-permanent house tucked in the middle of the prime but controversial Kibiko land in Kajiado West Sub-county, basking in the afternoon sun blended with a cool breeze blowing from the Ngong Hills, a routine he has maintained for at least 30 years.
A few metres from Mr Melubo’s home, a contingent of police officers, both regular and General Service Unit (GSU), accompanied a group of surveyors who were demarcating the 2,862 acres of land, estimated to be worth Sh100 billion.
For four decades, the land has been the epicentre of leadership chaos characterised by intimidation, injuries, destruction of property and protracted court battles that have delayed the settlement of 12,000 members of the Keekonyokie community, predominantly in Kajiado West Sub-county.
In the past fortnight, tension has been palpable, exacerbated by the police-backed subdivision of the expansive land that straddles the Kajiado–Kiambu counties’ border. A group of youths armed with crude weapons and opposed to the subdivision is reported to have been unleashing terror.
On Thursday, Christmas Day, a group of rowdy youths armed with spears, arrows and other crude weapons ambushed a contingent of police officers in broad daylight, turning the area into a battlefield enveloped in teargas smoke and loud bangs from rubber bullets fired by officers in a frantic effort to disperse them.
The aftermath saw several officers and civilians injured and two motorcycles burned. One officer later succumbed to his injuries on Saturday.
Kajiado County Police Commander Alex Shikondi told Nation that despite the high-voltage provocation by armed militia, the officers, though heavily armed, exercised restraint.
“It was a daring attack by rowdy youths armed with crude weapons against armed officers who restrained themselves. We lost an officer thereafter,” said Mr Shikondi. “Individuals dissatisfied with the ongoing process ought to petition within the confines of the law. Those fuelling violence will be dealt with mercilessly, within the law.”
The blatant attack on law enforcers was not an isolated incident, as police records show that over the last year the area has recorded systematic violence, intimidation and criminal acts.
On different dates throughout the year, the house of Pastor Peter Sarinke was deliberately torched, and a motor vehicle belonging to another member, Mr Jeremiah Lenkiyot, was reduced to ashes. In addition, two male members were violently attacked and maimed, while a minor was seriously injured, hospitalised in the Intensive Care Unit for an extended period and is still recuperating from the injuries sustained.
A wreck of a motor vehicle belonging to Mr Jeremiah Lenkiyot, Keekonyokie Community trust member torched by goons on October 1, 2025.
Photo credit: Stanley Ngotho| Nation Media Group
Nevertheless, for many members like Mr Melubo Ole Tirike, optimism remains that they will finally be legally settled on their respective parcels of land.
“I am in my sunset days. I need to leave my children and grandchildren safe. The wrangles will only escalate unnecessary tension. Let our leaders ensure we get uncontested land ownership documents,” said Mr Melubo through an interpreter.
Ms Seleu Ene Musanka, 60, told Nation that the subdivision of the land was long overdue but called for a truce among the warring parties.
“It is ironic for brothers to fatten a bull, slaughter it together, but end up fighting when it is time to share the meat. When there is violence, women, children and the elderly suffer most,” said Ms Musanka, confirming she had recently been issued with a title deed.
However, not all members are satisfied with the ongoing land subdivision. In an earlier interview, Ms Peninah Sisia registered her fears that the land allocation process had been infiltrated by outsiders seeking personal gain.
“Why are we forced to rubber-stamp a flawed process? We fear being disinherited and evicted to pave the way for moneyed and powerful individuals. Members are at a crossroads and divided,” said Ms Sisia.
On Monday, December 29, Kajiado Governor Joseph Ole Lenku and Woman Representative Leah Sankaire were teargassed by police officers and blocked from accessing the volatile Kibiko grounds, where they had intended to hold a meeting.
Governor Lenku’s administration has been backing one faction of the two warring parties embroiled in leadership wrangles for years.
A police source told Nation that the meeting was likely to degenerate into incitement on an already politically poisoned ground.
An agitated governor accused security agencies of using excessive force to safeguard the interests of some corrupt state officers he claimed were eyeing part of the arable land.
“No outsider will have an opportunity to own a piece of Kibiko land; that possibility is not there. We will now come out as leaders to stand in solidarity with our people. We urge members to pursue justice peacefully, through demonstrations, picketing, shouting, crying or praying, until justice is served,” said Mr Lenku, without naming those he accused.
Political sparring over the land dispute played out openly on Tuesday, with Kajiado West MP George Sunkuiya and Kajiado County Assembly Speaker Justus Ngossor accusing Governor Lenku of incitement to violence.
Mr Sunkuiya, in whose constituency the land falls, urged police to arrest local politicians he accused of funding militia groups to cause mayhem in an attempt to derail the Kibiko land subdivision process.
“We are aware that some local politicians have been recruiting militia camping in a nearby forest to instigate violence against our people. Governor Lenku’s attempt to hold a rally in Kibiko was a well-orchestrated plan to incite residents. Let police crack the whip on those funding violence,” said Mr Sunkuiya during a press briefing on Tuesday in Ngong.
Speaker Ngossor echoed the sentiments, urging politicians to obey the rule of law and stop misleading Keekonyokie members. Some politicians are also accused by clergy of scuttling truce efforts between the two groups.
At the centre of the dispute is the subdivision of the 2,862-acre prime parcel of land on the outskirts of Ngong township.
The communal land was reverted to the community by the government after livestock breeding programmes were shut down in the early 1980s.
Despite earlier efforts to reclaim the land, it was former Prime Minister Raila Odinga, in 2007, who handed over the original title deed for Kibiko land (L.R. No. Ngong/Ngong/12418) to the Keekonyokie Community Trust. The land has since been the subject of disputes, legal battles and allegations of fraud.
Since 2013, the land has been mired in leadership wrangles and court cases between rival factions of the community’s board of trustees, hindering subdivision among beneficiaries.
One faction, backed by the county government, is led by long-serving chairman Moses Parantai, who for years remained the custodian of the land title deed. The rival group, led by Mr Moses Monik and recognised by the Ministry of Lands, is overseeing the beaconing exercise. Both groups command sizeable followings.
Keekonyokie Community Trust Chairman Moses Monik (Third left) flanked by some of his members in Ngong during a press briefing on December 30, 2025.
Photo credit: Stanley Ngotho| Nation Media Group
On May 24, 2024, the Kajiado Environment and Land Court ordered board of trustees’ elections within 90 days. What followed was a showdown after the two factions held three polls in one week following a month of intense campaigns.
On June 4, 2024, the Moses Parantai- and Moses Monik-led factions held parallel elections, each endorsing its preferred chairperson through acclamation.
TOP: Mr Moses Parantai takes the oath of office at the Kibiko Grounds on May 4, 2024 after being declared the winner by his faction. BELOW: Mr Moses Monik addresses a group of Keekonyokie Ranch members in Ngong town on 4 May 2024 after being declared the winner by the other faction.
Photo credit: Stanley Ngotho | Nation Media Group
However, Mr Monik’s team held another poll on June 7, 2024, as per a gazette notice published in local daily newspapers, scheduling the Annual General Meeting for that day.
On June 27, 2024, Mr Monik and his team were gazetted as Keekonyokie Community Land Trustees through Gazette Notice No. 2417, opening the door to court battles and heightened hostility.
In July 2025, the Environment and Land Court in Kajiado ordered Mr Parantai to surrender the original Kibiko land title deed to the court within 72 hours. Lady Justice L. Komingoi further ordered that failure to do so would compel the Chief Land Registrar to issue and register a provisional certificate of title for L.R. No. Ngong/Ngong/12418 in the names of Moses Maseko Monik and his team. Mr Parantai’s faction appealed.
Embattled Keekonyokie Community Trust Chairman Moses Parantai, addressing the press on December 6, 2025, during the allotment certificate issuance exercise to his members in Kibiko land.
Photo credit: Stanley Ngotho| Nation Media Group
In September 2025, Mr Monik’s group issued title deeds to at least 3,800 members amid protests by Kajiado County Lands CECM Hamilton Parsaina, who claimed fraudsters working with corrupt Ardhi House officials had processed the titles illegally.
“Title issuance is a process. A fraudulent process will crumble sooner or later. The Kibiko wrangles are not about leadership. Some powerful individuals in the national government are pulling strings to satisfy their appetite for free land. This is not subdivision but a land-grabbing spree,” said Mr Parsaina.
While the gazetted trustees maintain that the Keekonyokie land is private land lawfully held under a registered community trust and does not constitute public land under Article 62 of the Constitution of Kenya, 2010, the county government’s lands department insists the land falls under its jurisdiction.
Following a barrage of accusations, on September 26 the Ministry of Lands defended itself against claims of irregular dealings in the contested Kibiko land, insisting all actions by its officers were lawful and guided by court rulings.
In a statement seen by Nation , Lands and Physical Planning Principal Secretary Nixon Korir dismissed as “malicious and unfounded” allegations linking senior officials to illegal subdivision and title issuance on the 2,600-acre Keekonyokie Community Trust land in Ngong, Kajiado County.
“Our attention has been drawn to malicious and unfounded allegations against the Principal Secretary and other officers of the department regarding land in Kibiko, Kajiado County, which has been disputed for more than a decade,” the statement read in part. “The courts issued a judgment which the State Department has implemented, and it is not right for those dissatisfied with the ruling to engage in innuendo and falsehoods.”
Deepening the controversy, on December 6, 2025, Mr Parantai’s disgruntled team launched the issuance of allotment letters to their supporters. Ironically, some members had previously received title deeds from the rival faction.
Members of Keekonyoie Ranch in Kibiko, Kajiado West sub-County queue after the elections were postponed on May 24, 2024.
Photo credit: Stanley Ngotho | Nation Media GRoup
Nevertheless, Mr Monik accused those opposing the ongoing process of having sold their shares to outsiders many years ago, but reiterated his commitment to ensure no member would be evicted or denied their share.
“The recent skirmishes are being funded by local politicians and a few individuals who sold their shares to outsiders to derail the process. They fear that issuance of individual title deeds will expose them,” said Mr Monik. “I extend an olive branch to my brothers on the other side to join the noble cause of settling our people after years of waiting.”
The beaconing exercise was concluded on the afternoon of Wednesday, December 31, 2025.
Mr Parantai said the ongoing subdivision was skewed, terming the allotment letters he issued a month earlier “ceasefire documents” meant to restore hope to members awaiting what he described as genuine title deeds from the Ministry of Lands early 2026. He urged his supporters to remain calm.
“We urge members to be calm during this difficult period when law enforcers are persecuting us instead of protecting us. We will continue amplifying our dissatisfaction with the fraudulent process. I refused to be a puppet,” said Mr Parantai.
Keekonyokie community land members pray during a crisis meeting to dissolve the trust committee over the weekend.The prime land situated in Kajiado County has been marred with controversies.
Photo credit: Stanley Ngotho I Nation Media Group
With the demarcation exercise concluded and police possibly set to withdraw, members are now questioning the motive behind the systemic violence — whether the wrangles were truly about leadership or a decoy for external forces eyeing the land.
The arable land, which serves as the region’s food basket, is currently about 80 per cent occupied, with a shopping centre, schools and churches. A section is connected to the national power grid, but residents grapple with perennial water shortages.
