Appeal Court bars eviction of 5,000 villagers in Ololunga, Narok

NAROK COUNTY: The Court of Appeal has stopped the eviction of over 5,000 people from a controversial 100 acre farm in Narok County.

Appellate judges Paul Kariuki, Mohammed Warsame and William Ouko said: “evicting the peasant farmers from the parcel of land which they have known over the years as their home will cause them a lot of harm.”

The appellants have been occupying a whole village at Ololunga in Muloti division in Narok County for the last 22 years.

The court suspended the implementation of a judgment delivered by High Court judge Justice Joseph Sergon on June 26 vesting the whole parcel of land to a pastoralist Pushati ole Shungur.

Shungur claims he was allocated the parcel of land in 1995 while the villagers who have developed the disputed land by building schools, market centres and other facilities say they bought the group ranch land in 1992 and “have all the required legal documents.”

The Appeal judges said unless the judgement of Justice Sergon is stayed it will cause a lot of prejudice to the families and their children.

The judges who certified the appeal urgent, ordered lawyer Titus Koceyo who is representing the families who comprise Chepnyaliliet Self-Help Group to serve the defendant, Shungur with copies of the appeal he has filed challenging the judgment of Justice Sergor within 14 days.

“This appeal should be heard expeditiously. The appellants (Chepnyaliliet) and the defendant (ole Shungur) do file written submissions within 14 days. This case shall be fixed for hearing on a priority basis in the month of January or February 2015,” the judges said.