BY ROBERT NYASATO
Civic leaders have raised concern over the alleged fraudulent sale of farmers’ prime land in Kisii town.
Led by Kisii Municipal Council Audit Committee Chairman Patrick Siro, the leaders questioned how a parcel of land leased to Kenya Farmers Association ( KFA) in the heart of the town changed hands and was now under the ownership of a private developer.
Siro petitioned Lands minister James Orengo and Commissioner of Lands Zablon Mabeya to institute a probe into land transactions, saying farmers were losing their investments through corrupt dealings.
Fraud
“We are not going to sit back and watch as farmers get defrauded of their prime property through improper means,” Siro told a Press conference in Kisii yesterday.
According to documents seen by The Standard, KFA acquired the parcel of land in 1963 and has been occupying it until about a month ago when a private developer claimed ownership.
Siro accused Town Clerk William Chepkwony of authorising sale of the land without the councillors’ consent.
“The clerk is approving documents without the authority of the planning committee. I am challenging the authenticity of minutes cited to issue consent because it shows I was present yet I never attended the meeting,” he said.
But when contacted for response, Chepkwony denied the accusations, saying private investors acquired the property through a public auction.
Court redress
He explained that the landowner had taken a bank loan and placed the parcel of land as collateral but failed to service it leading to its subsequent disposal by the financial institution.
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