Team probing Kihiu Mwiri receives 300 complaints

Acting land cabinet secretary Fred Matiang'i (middle) speaks to Director of Survey Mr Cesare Mbaria( left) and administrator Joseph Kanyiri after he witnessed conclusion of data collection and information gathering at Kihiu Mwiri land buying company. PHOTO:BONIFACE GIKANDI

A technical committee formed to investigate the controversy surrounding the troubled Kihiu Mwiri land-buying company received 300 complaints from members, The Standard can reveal.

The complaints included untraced members' certificates and multiple allocations, while some members living on the 1,296 acres having bigger plots than others.

The committee co-ordinated by Director of Survey Cesare Mbaria and former district commissioner Joseph Kanyiri has until September 30 to facilitate the issuance of title deeds to members.

Supervising the operations on Kihiu Mwiri titling programme, acting Lands Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang'i said President Uhuru Kenyatta has keen interest in the matter and wants it resolved without delay.

"The President is committed to resolving the wrangles that have faced the troubled land-buying company through issuance of the much-awaited land ownership documents," Dr Matiang'i said.

Sources within the committee told The Standard that some of the share certificates presented would undergo further scrutiny to establish actual shareholders.

Another contentious issue is the perennial confusion to establish actual owners of plots earmarked as troubled due to double and multiple allocations. On Wednesday, the Government concluded the first phase of gathering data and documentation relating to 6,500 members.

Matiang'i said the second phase, which is expected to take two weeks, will involve analysing the data to help expose those holding forged documents.

Dr Matiang'i told land-buying companies riddled with wrangles to clean up because the Government was formulating a policy meant to protect the public from losing their money to rogue directors.

Presidential directive

"We are not fools. The documentation we have will be used to separate the actual members from the impostors," he said.

Speaking at Kihiu Mwiri Market when he visited the area to inspect the process of issuance of title deeds to members, Matiang'i said President Uhuru Kenyatta has directed that the titles be issued before September 30.

Director of Survey Cesare Mbaria and Joseph Kanyiri from Office of the President have been directed to co-ordinate the process.

"I'm on directives from the President and his deputy William Ruto that the process of data collection, analysing and surveying be complete before end of September," he said.