Crooks cash in on thirst for land to issue fake titles

By Kipchumba Some and Alex Kiprotich

Engaging settlers in the Mau is not an easy venture. Suspicion is rife, as locals do not know who to trust or a visitor’s real intentions.

This suspicion is worsened when the visitor is a journalist.

The residents of Mauche, a small trading centre perched on a hill on the eastern part of the complex, are as wary as any other settler.

Their complaint against the media is that we have been misreporting and portraying them in negative light.

Thus after the ‘reprimand’, the less-than-happy locals obliged to engage us in discussion on condition we present their perspective.

"First of all, stop calling us illegal settlers, grabbers or forest encroachers," shot a young man from a small crowd that had gathered around us.

The locals reckon that by calling them illegal squatters, they have been unjustly portrayed as enemies of the environment.

"We did not invade these lands as it has been portrayed. The Government resettled us here and gave us title deeds," said Mr Alfred Kirui.

Permanent settlement

If we are illegal settlers, then the Government that gave us the title deeds must publicly apologise as we look for a way forward," he said.

But that is not to say there are no illegal settlers in Mau, the locals added. But for obvious reasons, none of them admitted being an illegal settler.

The locals say a good number of people living on the edges of the vast forest had illegally acquired land.

Mr Francis Kosgey offered to drive with us to the site of a new settlement.

Twenty kilometres east of Mauche trading centre and at the edge of the imposing forest, we found groups of youth clearing indigenous trees to give way for farmlands and subsequently permanent settlements.

As the residents did, the youth also welcomed us half-heartedly.

But they soon warmed up to us after ascertaining our intentions were "good".

We eventually got round to asking one of the men working on the farms whether he had a title deed to his parcel of land.

He said yes without hesitation and even produced the document. He, however, refused to have it photographed. As we studied the document, a wry smile pursed the lips of our guide. "The title deed is probably fake," he said.

"Anyone who wants land here can simply buy a title deed. They sell them in Nakuru Town. They "manufacture" them cheaply there," he added.

The encroachment on the forest and issuance of fake titles is said to have increased when the Government made known its intention to evict all settlers last year.

Mr Josephat Koech, a local, said they have witnessed an influx of "strangers" coming to live with them over the last two years. He doubts whether their new neighbours are legal settlers.

"In recent times we have seen people from far away places, some of them we do not know. Their objective is to take advantage of the Government compensation plan," he said.

The locals admitted that some unscrupulous Government officials are issuing fake titles. Koech explained how the encroachment occurs: "Genuine settlers often invite their relatives to stay with them. After sometime, the landless relatives then clear a part of forest to set up their own homes."

Set forest on fire

He said because of the vastness of the forest, the Provincial Administration and forest guards could not detect their acts in good time. Furthermore, the locals say, the officials are pre-occupied with pursuing charcoal burners and illegal loggers who often bribe them.

"They do not check if people are confined to their legally acquired land. They collude with loggers and charcoal burners who pay them to evade arrest," said Koech.

Samuel Kirui, a beneficiary of the Mau settlement, said in the process of extending their boundaries, the illegal settlers intentionally set the forest on fire.

They blame the illegal settlers for burning part of the forest last year to expand their borders.

"The invasion of the forest is almost unnoticeable due to the vastness of the complex. People move in slowly, one after the other from different parts. But the huge harm they are doing is soon noticeable," he said.