Society, Bahati MP tussle over land ownership in Lanet
Prarie Cooperative Society officials led by chairman Francis Kariuki Muhindi (centre), secretary Titus Kiragu (left) and Joseph Ng’era addressing the press in Lanet, Nakuru Town, on November 3, 2019. They accused Bahati MP Kimani Ngunjiri and area MCA Wilson Mwangi of planning to grab their land. PHOTO | FRANCIS MUREITHI | NATION MEDIA GROUP
What you need to know:
- Mr Ng’era said he owns two plots in the controversial land and had all the documents.
- Bahati ward rep also denied claims of grabbing the society land in Lanet on the outskirts of Nakuru Town.
Members of Nakuru-based Prarie Cooperative Society have accused Bahati MP Kimani Ngunjiri and Menengai East Ward Rep Wilson Mwangi of plotting to grab their land.
Led by their chairman Francis Kariuki Muhindi, the society members claimed that they bought 69.8-acre land, which they later subdivided, from a white settler farmer in the 1960s.
On Saturday, Mr Ngunjiri allegedly supervised as hired youth destroyed the plot’s barbed wire fence as the owners watched.
Mr Ngunjiri, however, defended his action and denied that he is land grabber. The legislator accused the society officials and members of invading public land.
“They don’t have any documents to prove the ownership of the land. They should stop hiding under the original title deed by the white settler (farmer) to divert the public’s attention,” Mr Ngunjiri told Nation.co.ke.
PUBLIC LAND
The Menengai East ward rep also denied claims of grabbing the society land in Lanet on the outskirts of Nakuru Town.
“The Commissioner of Lands is investigating this matter because initially it was set aside for public utilities,” said Mr Mwangi.
Mr Muhindi said that the first attempt to grab their land was in 1996 when an estate registered in the name of a prominent politician grabbed a section of the land.
“The forged title deed was cancelled after we raised the issue with the Commissioner of Lands,” said Mr Muhindi.
He said that they have the original title deeds and other documents showing that they bought the land from a white settler farmer in the 1960s.
“I challenge Mr Ngunjiri and the area MCA to produce documents to show they own the land,” said Mr Muhindi.
The society secretary Titus Kiragu said they have been paying land rate at Sh60,120 per year. He claimed that Nakuru County government had allowed them to subdivide the land.
DOCUMENTS
“If they claim to own this land they should show us documents showing how they have been paying land rates to the county government,” said Mr Kiragu.
Another member and a prominent businessman in Nakuru Town, Mr Joseph Ng’era said he bought his 20- acre plot in 1965.
Mr Ng’era said he owns two plots in the controversial land and had all the documents.
The society’s vice chairman William Maina Kabuthia said that he purchased two acres and wondered why the MP and MCA had taken law into their own hands.
“We have all the documents to prove ownership of the land in a court of law,” said Mr Kabuthia who is a former deputy mayor at the defunct Municipal Council of Nakuru.
Among the members of the society are retired Kenya Defence Forces officers, businessmen in Nakuru town and a retired ambassador among other prominent people in Nakuru Town.
