Squatters may not be settled on Criticos farm

The Settlement Fund Trustee may not accept the ownership of 15,000 acres of land the Government got from former Taveta MP Basil Criticos “because it was irregularly acquired”.

A senior Ministry of Lands official, speaking on condition of anonymity in Wundanyi at the weekend, said the fund was not comfortable with the method used to buy the land in Taveta.

“We do not want to provoke the wrath of the Lands minister, Mr James Orengo, who has publicly declared that he will not sanction land transfers that were irregularly acquired,” the officer said.

The official said the transfer of the land from the former MP to the fund was in breach of procedure “since it was politically influenced”.

“Since it was an election year and everyone was busy campaigning, those behind the transfer were confident that nothing would happen to address the irregularity,” the official said.

The land was initially taken over by the National Bank of Kenya over a loan owed by the former MP, but was transferred to the fund for squatter settlement after the Government reportedly paid Sh55 million against Ciriticos’ offer of Sh63 million.

Uprooting sisal

Since the land was transferred in September, it has not been surveyed and subdivided for the intended settlement.

However, Taveta Town Council is uprooting sisal and collecting money from people, promising them plots.

Human rights lobby groups and a trade union are demanding legal action against the council for destroying property on land it does not own.