Gusii leaders: We can’t get land for development

Lawmakers from Gusii have been struggling to find land for development projects as the land crisis escalates in the region.

The two Gusii counties of Kisii and Nyamira are facing major land challenges, given the bursting population and little available land for expansion and settlement.

The high population growth rate and insatiable demand for land have led to frequent land-related conflicts, and encroachment on public spaces and protected areas.

Not just legislators are facing the problem - both the Kisii and Nyamira county governments lack space for development.

Kisii, for example, has a population of 1,266,860, according to the 2019 census.

The Abagusii are the seventh-largest tribe in Kenya, making up six percent of Kenya’s population.

The National Assembly’s Select Committee on Constituency Development Fund has expressed lawmakers’ frustrations in acquiring land for their projects.

With limited land, the committee said, community members are not ready to cede land for public projects, thus derailing development.

Five MPs, led by the committee’s chair Wafula Wamunyinyi, said they must make do with the little available space.

The lawmakers had toured various development projects in Borabu and Nyaribari Chache constituencies in Nyamira and Kisii counties respectively.

“In Kisii, for example, there is a major challenge of land availability. Schools should look into the future and this is about storey buildings,” the Kanduyi MP said.

He said Ibeno Primary School will now have to be moved to create space for the Sh30 million Ibeno campus of Kenya Medical Training College.

MPs Richard Onyonka (Kitutu Chache South), Silvanus Osoro (South Mugirango), Vincent Kemosi (West Mugirango), Joash Nyamoko (North Mugirango), Alpha Miruka (Bomachoge Chache) and Richard Tong’i (Nyaribari Chache) said some of their projects had stalled because of lack of land.

Mr Nyamoko said that sometimes they must raise money, buy land under the government of Kenya title and then establish a project.

Fundraising

“This is prevalent in essential security-related projects in areas where government land may not be readily available, for example, chiefs and their assistant’s offices, police posts or police quarters, water boreholes intended for schools and other government installations,” he said.

Mr Nyamoko said the Itibo chief’s camp in Bonyakoni, the Kebobora Police Station, the China primary water project, and the Bonyunyu water project are some of the projects that have stalled.

Mr Kemosi said the problem is significant, noting that he had allocated funds to build an office for the Charachani sub-location assistant chief but they still lack land for it as CDF does not allow them to buy land.

“We have been forced to establish a committee to arrange for a fundraising and buy land for the project,” said the West Mugirango MP.

Mr Osoro said it is difficult to get land with all the necessary documents in his constituency.

“I have really struggled with this,” said the South Mugirango MP.

Mr Miruka said he had devised a way of getting all constituency projects done in already available land.

“Before approving a project, we ensure we already have land. All public projects are done on government land. We, therefore, do not have to buy land for them,” said the Bomachoge Chache MP.

In Kisii, lack of available land has stalled county projects with some of Governor James Ongwae’s major plans having to wait until land is available.

Getting alternative land for a new cemetery and a dumpsite has become a major challenge for his government.

The existing Nyambera cemetery is full. The dead are restless, as people dig up old graves to bury their relatives.

The county government recently spent Sh34 million to purchase land for a new gravesite and a dumpsite at Nyatieko, but the project is surrounded by controversy and some community members sued to contest the acquisition.

Governor Ongwae has previously expressed frustration in establishing some projects, saying communities were not willing to cede available land.

He warned that land use through excessive fragmentation for settlement was a major impediment to development.

Despite the immense challenges, the Kisii and Nyamira county governments remain committed to continuing land reforms by working with multi-sectoral land agencies and actors.

“My government is working towards efficient land system management, urban planning and provision of adequate housing,” Mr Ongwae said.