Eldoret widow’s five-year battle for part of Sh70 million property
Patroba Yator, a widow from Eldoret who is fighting to recover a section of her prime property worth Sh70 million at Kipkorgot area in Ainabkoi on the outskirts of Eldoret town on November 8, 2022.
What you need to know:
- Ms Yator said she bought the plot in an auction five years ago after its original owner failed to repay a Sh3 million loan taken from a bank in Eldoret
- Uasin Gishu County Criminal Investigations Officer Ali Bule Samatar confirmed that Ms Yator had reported the matter and a fresh investigation would start
For the last five years, Patroba Yator, a widow in Eldoret, Uasin Gishu County, has been crying out for justice as she battles to recover a section of her prime property worth Sh70 million that was allegedly grabbed by a private developer.
Ms Yator, a dual Kenyan and Belgian citizen, had to cut short her stay in the European country after being alerted by a neighbour that part of her two-and-a-half-acre plot had been grabbed.
The developer apparently took advantage of her absence to hive off part of the land and has allegedly refused to surrender it despite several pleas from authorities and family members.
Ms Yator said her struggle to reclaim her plot has taken a toll on her health and resources and asked the government to intervene before she loses her property.
“I have knocked on almost all government offices, including the Judiciary and police, seeking justice, all in vain, and I do not know whom to run to for help,” she said.
Auction purchase
She said she bought the plot in an auction five years ago after its original owner failed to repay a Sh3 million loan taken from a bank in Eldoret.
“I paid the bank Sh4 million, including arrears amounting to Sh500,000 and the bank gave the green light to take possession of the property. But my efforts to secure a title deed for it has hit a snag,” Ms Yator said.
She claimed the original owner had colluded with officials in the Ministry of Lands and local administrators to frustrate her efforts to secure the vital document.
“He has given the condition that I forfeit the prime half acre of my plot in exchange for the title deed for only two acres and yet the loan I cleared was for the entire two and a half acres land,” she said.
Reached for comment, Uasin Gishu County Criminal Investigations Officer Ali Bule Samatar confirmed that Ms Yator had reported the matter to him and a fresh investigation would start.
“I am aware of the matter and I have instructed my officers to visit the disputed property with a view to resolving the issue to enable the widow to get justice without further delay,” Mr Samatar said.
He said Ms Yator had recorded her statement with the Directorate of Criminal Investigations in Eldoret.
