Activities of once-thriving slaughterhouse curtailed as grabbers seize nine acres in Nakuru

The dilapidated structure with a rusty roof could easily be mistaken for an abandoned colonial era maisonette struggling to fit in one of Nakuru‘s fast emerging estates. But the beehive of activity at the compound dispels that notion as men in white overalls walk in and out of the structures carrying huge chunks of meat.

The Nakuru slaughterhouse serves hundreds of residents, but its deplorable state has been a cause of concern for meat sellers in the town. Constructed in 1943, the slaughterhouse is battling to remain in business, as private land grabbers eye the valuable parcel of land it sits on in Kisulisuli Estate.

From the 10 acres it initially occupied, this parcel has continued to shrink, owing to successive years of grabbing. It is currently confined to one acre. Highrise high-end buildings sprouting near the facility have made it an attractive location for developers. The neglect of the facility has led to speculation that some county officials are deliberately sabotaging its operations to pave way for a land grab.

Nakuru County Assembly Agriculture, Fisheries and Livestock Chairman Mwangi Waithaka says they were surprised when water to the facility was recently disconnected. “As a slaughterhouse, the place cannot operate without water and the disconnection was aimed at stalling its operations as we know there are people eyeing the land it sits on,” the MCA said.

Illegally excised

Mr Waithaka said his committee had directed County Lands Executive Committee member Rachel Maina to immediately start the process of recovering illegally excised land belonging to the abattoir. The committee noted that the abattoir, going by the law, should have a minimum of three acres, while the land currently occupied by the facility is only one acre. “We know there are people who covet this parcel of land, but we are not going to allow them, as the abattoir plays a big role in promotion of livestock farming,“ he added.

Its poor state has led to concerns over how the facility handles meat sold to thousands of Nakuru town residents and others from the outlying areas. As meat requires proper handling and hygiene, health standards could easily be compromised by the state of the abattoir. But the health officer in charge of the facility, Harrison Kareko, said this has been compromised by the land grab.

“The slaughterhouse has a rich history, having been constructed by Prisoners of War in 1943, but with encroachment by private developers it has not been able to serve residents effectively,“ Mr Kareko added.

Part of the abattoir sewerage system is in the illegally allocated land complicating matters while the area reserved for the cattle holding ground has also been grabbed.

Mr Kareko said if the grabbed land is recovered, the facility will be able to offer more services to residents. “For instance, chicken from Nakuru town, which are slaughtered at Toi Market, would be brought here and we will increase the number of cows which we can accommodate in the holding ground,“ he added.

In better days when the facility was under the Kenya Meat Commission, more than 50 cows would be slaughtered at the facility daily as compared to only 10 today. “If we get the land back, we will be in a position to create more employment for local youths as it is going to serve a wider area,“ he said.

The assembly team investigating grabbing of agriculture land was shocked after touring some of the parcels only to find they had been fenced by private developers. “For instance, while documents produced by the county lands executive committee member Rachel Maina indicated that land for the veterinary centre was intact, we were surprised when we visited the place to find it had already been fenced off by private developers,“ Waithaka added.

Legal proceedings

Repossessing the land has been complicated by the fact that land issues still fall under the National Government and the County Government would have to seek assistance from the Ministry of Lands to reclaim it. “That is why we asked the lands executive to liaise with the ministry to recover and if necessary institute legal proceedings to ensure that land meant for agriculture and livestock activities reverts to the public,“ Waithaka said.

The assembly is also probing land belonging to the Nakuru Agricultural Training Centre currently in the hands of individuals. In Naivasha, the Dairy Research Institute is facing a major obstacle undertaking its role as a source of sustainable dairy production due to irregular allocation of land earmarked for research.

The institute has a national mandate for all dairy research in the country under the consolidated and re-organised Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Organisation (KALRO) - formerly KARI, Naivasha. Large tracts of research land at the centre have, however, been irregularly allocated to private individuals without any regard to the strategic research needs in the country.

A report prepared by the institute cautions that KALRO stands to lose about 50 per cent of its 2,000 acres if urgent measures are not taken to get back its land. Some of the livestock owned by squatters have been indiscriminately breeding with research livestock, jeopardising the national breeding programme.

The report states that the irregular land allocations have far reaching negative ramifications on research and places the dairy industry in Kenya and the region at risk. Newly-appointed Dairy Research Institute Director Titus Lanyasunya says the centre has been earmarked as the Regional Dairy Centre of Excellence.

He says it is an important research hub for Eastern and Central Africa under the auspices of the Eastern Africa Agricultural Productivity Project. “It will address research aspects related to feeds, nutrition, breeding improvement and general management among others. At the moment there are about 1,300 dairy cattle and 500 dairy goats,” he said.