Plans are underway to relocate Kitale Medium Prison to pave the way for the town’s upgrade and construction of affordable housing projects, among other national government projects.
The facility will be moved to the main prison, to create space for expansion of the agricultural town that hosts the Trans Nzoia county headquarters, in a more secure environment, Cabinet Secretary for Interior and Administration of National Government Kithure Kindiki said while on a security visit to the town.
Prof Kindiki spoke amid ongoing efforts by the government to recover public land belonging to the Kenya prisons in Kitale that was grabbed by individuals and private firms.
President William Ruto ordered the repossession of the Kitale Prison land in January, sending occupants into a panic. Families of top government officials who worked in previous regimes are among the over 3,000 residents who have settled on the over 2,700 acres of the disputed prison land over the years.
The Kitale Medium Prison currently sits at the heart of the town, and its relocation is meant to accommodate the ambitious urban expansion agenda of the Trans Nzoia county government under Governor George Natembeya.
Upon assumption of office after the 2022 General Election, Mr Natembeya declared his intention to give Kitale town a facelift to make it a little bit more attractive to investors and boost its economic status.
Kitale Town originally designed for around 45,000 people now accommodates a population of more than 200,000.
With half of its land belonging to the Kitale Golf Club and the Kenya Railway Corporation, the town faces disorganisation due to restricted land availability and encroachment on public spaces, disrupting the official expansion plan envisioned during the colonial era.
Last year, the governor appealed to President Ruto to consider relocating the correctional facility, highlighting the town's rapid expansion. He had noted that the town has over the years outgrown the original colonial-era physical plan, leaving insufficient space for further development.
"We are encountering a substantial challenge regarding space for our traders. We urge the relocation of the Kitale Medium Prison to allow us to establish additional infrastructure to accommodate our traders, considering our limited land space,” Mr Natembeya had requested President Ruto during a visit to the State House last year.
Kitale hosts four prisons namely the Kitale Main Prison, the Kitale Women's Prison, the Kitale Annex Prison, and the Kitale Medium Prison. In Mr Natembeya’s opinion, they are excessive for a small town like Kitale, considering the vast amounts of land the Prison Department set aside for the same.
Following President Ruto’s directive on repossession of the Kitale Prison land earlier this year, the government moved to install beacons to demarcate the original boundaries.
The impending evictions from the main prison land are meant to accommodate infrastructure to accommodate inmates from the Kitale Medium Prison as well, upon relocation.
"Where I want to relocate this prison has been grabbed and turned into private land. I am issuing a notice that all those who have grabbed the prison land to pack their belongings and leave. It is as simple as that,” the President had declared at the Kitale Bus Park while on a development tour of Trans Nzoia County in January.
On March 4 during a fact-finding mission in Kitale, Land Cabinet Secretary Alice Wahome insisted on full implementation of President Ruto's January directive of repossession of the land.
Prof Kindiki, while visiting the town on Monday reiterated that President Ruto gave firm instructions on recovery of public land grabbed by individuals and private firms across the country.
The Interior CS said the government is committed to recovering over 2,700 acres of land belonging to Kitale prison, directing those who settled on the land to surrender and vacate.
He revealed that the government is aware of powerful individuals who are beneficiaries of grabbed land and they are using their influence to frustrate recovery efforts.
“We are on course to recover the land that was taken away illegally from public institutions and we will stop at nothing until that land is fully repossessed,” declared the CS in charge of the security docket.
He declared that the government would not negotiate with anyone regarding the land, stating that any efforts to frustrate the process would not bear fruit.
The Kitale Medium Prison land was originally sitting on 159 acres but has over the years drastically reduced to just about 12 acres due to extensive encroachment by developers who assert legal ownership of their portions.
Earlier this month, Ms Wahome had reiterated that the government position stands, and all those who settled on the Kenya Prisons land must vacate.
The Land Cabinet Secretary stated that out of 159 acres gazetted for Kitale Medium Prison in 1961 and allocated to the correctional service department, only 12 acres remain today due to encroachment.
She said the High Court has pronounced itself on the land cases and the recovery process and the government will revoke all title deeds issued for the subdivided portions, and issue new titles only in the name of the Prison.
"The grabbed Kitale Prison Land is just one of the many cases of public land acquired fraudulently that the government is actively working to recover for its intended purpose of benefiting Kenyans and not individuals," said CS Wahome.
On Monday, Prof Kindiki said the Kitale prison land was acquired fraudulently, and announced finalisation of plans to relocate the Medium Prison for the expansion of the town under the jurisdiction of the county government.
"We are in the process of recovering the land. The land was acquired through fraudulent and illegal means, and we will not rest until we ensure that it is returned to the Kenya Prisons Service," the CS stated.
The eviction plan is, however, clouded in many litigations that have slowed the land repossession process, following court orders served to the government.
The court cases include one filed by residents of Ninami estate next to Kitale Medium prison, who argue that they were the bonafide beneficiaries of the affordable housing project during President Moi's regime.
Dr Martin Bulimo has led buyers and owners of parcels of land on the disputed section to oppose the eviction plan by the government saying they are rightful owners who followed due legal purchase process.
“We bought this land and the government should reconsider its eviction plans since it will be illegal,” noted Dr Bulimo.
Auditor General Nancy Gathungu has also raised fears over the recoverability of over Sh3 billion parcels of land belonging to Kenya Prison Services due to numerous cases filed in court. The Auditor’s office doubts the success of recovering prison land that has been occupied over the last 30 years across the country.
