Kirinyaga elders urge Uhuru to help end land dispute

Some of the squatters flushed from the troubled Mwea Trust Land last year. [Munene Kamau, Standard]

Elders have appealed to President Uhuru Kenyatta to intervene in a decades-old land ownership dispute. 

The elders drawn from Mihiriga Kenda (the nine clans) from Kirinyaga County yesterday said they expect the President to address the dispute when he opens the sixth devolution conference this morning.

The land, measuring about 54,000 acres situated in Mbeere South Sub-County, has been the scene of bloody clashes between different parties. 

Last year, one such skirmish left two people dead and scores injured. “Some of the youths who were shot by police had defied orders to move out of the disputed land while others were forcing themselves into the same land leading to the skirmishes as each group claimed legitimacy,” said the elders' chairman, Gitumu Mubuthi.

Legacy

“Now that you are working on your legacy, we as the clansmen from this county are appealing to you to resolve this matter once and for all since both the Embu and Kirinyaga people deserve it,” Mr Mubuthi added.

Mihiriga Kenda Secretary General Simon Muchiri said only the President would end the dispute that began during the rein of his father, Mzee Jomo Kenyatta.

“Our beloved President, if you could only resolve this land matter for us now, we and generations to come will live to remember you forever,” he said.

The land was allegedly hived from the Kirinyaga soon after independence and became part of Embu despite strong opposition by the then political leadership.