Families face eviction after ruling on land in Soy, Uasin Gishu
High Court in Eldoret has ordered families occupying a parcel of land in Soy Constituency, Uasin Gishu County to leave or face eviction by the rightful owners.
Hundreds of families who are living in a disputed farm in Uasin Gishu County face eviction after the High Court in Eldoret issued orders for them to move out of the land in a dispute that has been in the corridors of justice for 30 years.
The families are required to move out of the 606 acres of land in Soy Constituency following orders issued by Justice H.A. Omondi in February 2021 and subsequent dismissal of a suit filed by area MP David Kiplagat to halt the eviction.
The eviction orders from the farm follow a suit filed by Kachero Ole Makala and 17 others against George Kipteng and others who are current occupants of the farm.
“An order of eviction is hereby issued against the defendants by themselves, their agents and or servants from the portion comprising approx. The parcel of land known as LR 8312 Nyalilbei farm,” ruled Justice Omondi.
The court while directing the County Police Commander to execute the orders allocated the families 303 acres of the disputed land.
In a bid to put on halt the eviction orders, Soy Mr Kiplagat moved to court as an interested party on grounds that the families were the rightful owners.
But Justice E.K. Ogola ruled that the application by the lawmaker lacked merit and dismissed the case with costs, giving green light to Kachero Ole Makala who is represented by David Ole Soit as administrator to claim ownership of the 606 acres of the land.
And Mr Ole Soit’s lawyer Ledishah Kittony has now written to the George Kipteng group to move out of the land to allow surveyors to commence demarcation. They have been given up to January 30, 2024 to move out of the land or face eviction according to the orders.
“As you are well aware this matter was concluded in court several years ago. You are also well aware that execution of the court degree commenced and the surveyors duly visited the subject parcel, took measurement as ordered by court and what is now pending is the implementation of the eviction part of the order,” stated the notice signed by Ledishah J.K. Kittony and Co. advocates. It was received and stamped by Mckay advocates on January 11,2024.
David Ole Soit, the administrator of Kachero Ole Makala and others now wants the Moi’s Bridge Police to assure them access to the 606 acres of Nyalilbei farm being the rightful owners after decades of court tussle with the current residents.
“All that we want is for the illegal occupants to move out of our 606 acres of land to their 303 acres. In any case they have been given humble time to move out,” said Mr Ole Sait on phone after the court decision.
But according to Soy MP, the residents are lawful owners of the land arguing that the respondents in the case and applicants are one and the same.
“Residents have genuine titles and have been occupying the said land since 1973 when they bought it,” argued Mr Kiplangat.
According to statement by some residents, they leased the land in early 1965 and were issued with title deeds.
‘I came into the farm in 1965. We leased the farm. Nobody bought the farm. We collected Sh20,000 again for land settlement. In 1972 we were told to contribute the difference. We collected Sh103,565. We were given the title deed,” reads statement by Daniel Koskei, one of the witnesses in the case.
Other residents who recorded statements maintained that they are the rightful owners of the land having paid for it.
The land measuring 909 acres was said to have been bought by locals in 1965 from a departing Boer farmer. Two main groups raised resources to purchase the property: The Kalenjin Group and the Maasai Group
The latter were the last remnants of the Uasin Gishu clan of the Maasai who originally inhabited present-day Uasin Gishu County before the colonialists uprooted and translocated them.
According to records kept by the lawyer of the Boer seller, the Maasai Group’s contribution to the purchase of the property gives them an allocation of 606 acres while the Kalenjins Group is entitled to 303 acres.
However, the Maasai Group has over the years been fighting to get its rightful share since the 1960s before the matter ended up in court in 1993 with the recent decision bringing an end to the long legal battle.
