Umoja 3 land case drags on as senior police officer fails to comply with court orders
A bulldozer demolishes houses in Umoja Three estate Nairobi in this picture taken on April 5, 2012.
What you need to know:
- The court had also ordered former Inspector of Police Hillary Mutyambai to evict occupants on the disputed piece of land, an order that he did not carry.
- Also enlisted in the matter are the National Land Commission, Chief Land Registrar and the Attorney General, who were directed to comply with the order.
Despite court summons and threats of evictions, a police officer has failed to step into the courtroom to testify in a case of a disputed piece of land in Umoja 3, along Kangundo road.
In July, Officer Commanding Dandora Police Station, Inspector Peterson Kunga was found to be in contempt of court for disobeying an order which was issued on November 26, 2020 in which the Environment and Land Court ordered demolitions of structures on the disputed land.
At the centre of the dispute is development land being claimed by U-Haul vehicles Limited, which accuses Kiambu Dandora Farmers Company Limited and Dandora Housing Scheme of grabbing parcels of land (L.R. No. 209/9465, L.R No. 209/9466, L.R No. 209/9467 and L.R No. 209/9468.)
Earlier, the court had also ordered former Inspector of Police Hillary Mutyambai to evict occupants on the disputed piece of land, an order that he did not carry.
U-Haul vehicles Limited claims it legally acquired the contested four plot, but the Kiambu Dandora Farmers Company Limited later encroached on its parcel, subdivided it and sold to third parties.
Also enlisted in the matter are the National Land Commission, Chief Land Registrar and the Attorney General, who were directed to comply with the order.
This is not the first such case. For several years now, residents of Kayole in Nairobi County have been struggling with endless cases of land grabbing that for some reason seems never to go away.
One area residents, who only wanted to be identified as Mr Kanyara, said innocent people buy land in the hopes of building their homes only to be confronted by illegal occupants much later.
The court process being what it is takes ages to conclude and many such buyers give up and vacate with their title deeds.
Residents are now saying they are sick and tired of this situation and have appealed for assistance from government to curb this vice.
In October, President William Ruto, speaking after commissioning Komarock South Primary School in Embakasi Central Constituency, said his government is working on solving these land disputes.
“If there is a group claiming to own a particular piece of land and the second group has built a home on the claimed land, the government will engage the two groups so that a win-win situation is arrived at,” said President Ruto.
Those with property on the disputed land can compensate the first owner of the land so that the properties on the land are not destroyed.
In Kenya, some land grabbers have been putting up expensive properties on land owned by other people or even the government.
They grab public land and set up huge buildings worth millions of shillings. Such people may capitalize on the government's move and grab more land with an aim of negotiating a win-win settlement.
During President Uhuru's reign, several houses and homes that settled on public land were pulled down. There were limited negotiations with those who had homes on land that belonged to the government.
In October, two people were killed and several others injured during a fight between residents and guards over land ownership in Njiru, Kasarani, Nairobi county.
Demolition site in Njiru, Nairobi County in this picture taken on March 28, 2021.
Residents who were evicted from the quarry land a year ago ganged up to repossess their land but were repulsed by armed guards at the quarry land leading to a scuffle that resulted in two fatalities.
The injured, including one whose fingers were chopped off, were rushed to Mama Lucy Kibaki Hospital.
Police, who visited the site, found more than 300 people who claimed to be the rightful owners of the disputed land.
Njiru Sub-County Commander, Pail Wambogo, promised to provide security to anyone claiming to own the land should upon producing a court order.
“All you need is a court order and I will accord you all the support you need. If you have no court order, you are not justified to come in and start creating chaos in this area,” he said.
However, he warned those who started to invade the land to stay away.
“I am cautioning you, you might be lucky because if we faceoff one-on-one, I will deal with you squarely,” he said.
