The prime 2,912 acres of land on the border of Kajiado and Machakos counties has for years been synonymous with controversy, pitting the local community against government institutions and individuals.
According to records from the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries, the land in question, which is currently home to dozens of wild animals from the neighbouring Nairobi National Park, was carved out of the Empakasi Community Group Ranch by the government in 1981 for a sheep and goat breeding project.
The community retained 6,000 acres, while the project was allocated 2,912 acres.
However, when the project collapsed in the 1990s, a section of the locals claimed the land, leading to clashes between security agents, and the community.
In May 2021, the Kenya Meat Commission (KMC) took possession of part of the land it had claimed against the wishes of the locals. The fenced land is currently used by KMC as an animal-holding area manned by the Kenya Defence Force soldiers.
Between 2017 and 2018, a group of 'elite' community members formed an organisation known as Empakasi OO Lera Trust and recruited members. Each member paid a registration fee of Sh17,000. Each member was entitled to one acre of land, according to certificates seen by Nation.
At least 1,000 members are said to have paid up, amounting to about Sh17 million. The Kitengela Trust office has since been closed. The management is also accused of receiving a colossal amount of money as compensation for a power line, which led to the formation of a splinter group. The splinter group is said to have demanded Sh35,000 from each of its members as legal fees for protracted court cases.
On March 21, 2024, a fight broke out in the land when a group of 20 youths armed with crude weapons attacked several homesteads before locals fought back, leaving one attacker dead, two injured and three suspects arrested, according to records from Athi River Police Station where the incident was reported.
A spot check at the Mavoko Law Court, where the case was mentioned twice, revealed that the complainants (locals who were attacked) had failed to appear in court twice.
However, after years of push and shove and protracted court battles, the years-long smokescreen was lifted on Monday 29 April when a local bank (Credit Bank) advertised in a local daily newspaper to sell 100 acres for Sh1.5 billion to recover its money. The owner had used the land as collateral.
It has now dawned on the locals that the land in question was subdivided in 1997 as per the Surveyor of Kenya map obtained by Nation and allocated to individuals.
Nation has since established that the owner(s) have received colossal sums of money from various financial institutions in the past using the land as collateral.
A prominent National Savings and Credit Cooperative Organisation (SACCO), which owns 250 acres, is involved in the circus with the locals despite allocating the land to its members.
An individual who owns part of the land told the Nation on Saturday that the Sacco officials knew that there were free titles, but went ahead to dupe unsuspecting members.
"The whole land is owned by individuals. We have title deeds. We call on the Directorate of Criminal Investigation (DCI) to investigate the Trust leaders who are notorious for ignoring court orders," he said.
The chairperson of the Empakasi OO Lera Trust, James Turere, on Friday denounced the existence of title deeds. Most of its members have since relocated, leaving the chairman and less than five members living there. He remained evasive about how the money collected from members was spent.
"Let the individuals stay with their title deeds. The court will decide," Turere said, without revealing that he had previously been served with several court orders, seen by Nation, to vacate the land.
Advocate Daniel Kanchori of the High Court said the legality of the title deeds could be determined in court, but the trust was bound by law to refund the money collected from the individuals.
"Individuals who gave their money to the trust have a right to demand the same considering that the proposed subdivision and allocation of the land has been aborted," Kanchori said.
