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Residents want Chepchoina settlement dispute resolved as eviction claims emerge

Some of the squatters living in Chepchoina in Trans Nzoia County during a meeting in 2014 following the arrival of internal refugees from Rongai in Nakuru who were to be resettled at the Chepchoina farm. PHOTO | FILE

By  OSCAR KAKAI

What you need to know:

  • Local leaders led by Kapenguria MP Samuel Moroto, Pokot South MP David Pkosing and Endebbes MP Robert Pokose have condemned the unlawful evictions.

Trans-Nzoia and West Pokot Counties' leaders and residents have blamed the government for taking too long to resolve the Chepchoina Settlement Scheme dispute as new claims of settlers being evicted emerge.

Local leaders led by Kapenguria MP Samuel Moroto, Pokot South MP David Pkosing and Endebbes MP Robert Pokose have condemned the unlawful evictions and demanded government action to address the long-standing issue. 

“I will take a delegation of squatters to President Uhuru Kenyatta for them to raise their concerns themselves,” said Mr Moroto.

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Mr David Pkosing blamed the squabble on double allotments of the land but vowed to pursue the matter.

The settlers who claim to be former employees of the Agricultural Development Cooperation (ADC) allege that Trans-Nzoia County officials ordered the police to evict them from the farm which they have been residing on for over 22 years since President Daniel Moi gave them the land between 1994-1997.

One of the settlers, Ms Anna Edung claimed she worked for the ADC farm at Chepchoina for 17 years and is a beneficiary of the settlement scheme yet some unknown people were brought into the land.

Another settler, 79-year-old James Kaburu, wants the government to address the issue with urgency as he is illiterate and fears that some corrupt officers intend to hoodwink him and take away his land.

In 2014, politicians were banned from holding meeting at the settlement scheme after one person was killed and several others injured when armed intruders prevented the settlers from preparing their land for planting.

Morever, a list tabled in Parliament in 2009 showed that politicians, top civil servants, parastatal chiefs and security personnel were among people allocated ADC land in eight farms- Chepchoina, Nyota, Tall Trees, Sirikwa, Ol’ Jorrai, Moi Ndabi, Jabali, and Zea in the former Rift Valley Province.

In 2013, the Parliamentary Lands Committee toured the Chepchoina Settlement Scheme on a fact-finding mission.

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