Ntutu kin defend ownership of 830-acre Narok land

The Ntutus refute claims that the Tipis family own the property. [iStockphoto]

The family of the late Maasai elder Lerianka ole Ntutu have produced title deeds as evidence of possession of 830 acres of land in Narok County.

The land is at the centre of a dispute between the Ntutus and the family of former Cabinet minister Justus Kantet ole Tipis.

Nanyiku Ntutu and Looyieyio Ntutu want Tipis’ children, Serah Tipis and her brother Eric Lengeseni, evicted from the property.

In documents filed before Lands Court judge John Mutungi on Tuesday, the Ntutus have refuted claims that the Tipis family own the property.

They said that they purchased the 830-acre land in 1997 after Tipis died and obtained ownership documents for the same.

However, they submit that they attempted to evict the Tipis’ family in 1998 but failed.

“Tipis owned property adjacent to the one we claim. His family has no document to prove that he owned the disputed land,” reads Nanyiku’s documents. He adds that there existed a clear boundary and beacons between Tipis land and Ntutu’s until 2001 when the former allegedly uprooted them, extending the boundaries to the disputed land.

According to Nanyiku, Lemek Ranch Group, which allegedly allocated land to the late minister, ceased to exist in 1999. He says that as such, Tipis’ family cannot claim to own land that is registered under the name of a group that no longer exists.

Gifted to father

The Ntutus are disputing a land court case by Lengeseni, the administrator of Tipis’ estate. In his testimony of November 2020, Lengeseni claimed the property was gifted to their late father in 1972 by Lemek Ranch Group.

The group had the mandate to allocate land to its members.

He wants the court to declare the Tipis’ as owners of the land under adverse possession, having occupied it for over 48 years without interruption.

“My father’s possession of the land has never been disputed by the group who allocated the suit land to him to date,” he said.

He added that the group ranch officials affirmed the allocation to his father in the minutes of a meeting dated September 3, 1992.

Lengeseni alleged that the land had illegally been allocated to the Ntutus among other private developers.

He also accused the individuals of fraud and forging transfers and titles to illegally occupy the land. Tipis served as a MP for Narok North constituency. He died in 1994.

The minister is said to have planted wheat, maize, grass for their livestock and trees to separate their parcels from their neighbour’s.

The case will be mentioned tomorrow Thursday.