Panic in Athi-River as residents decry police harassment over land row

Workers repair the entrace at an esterblishment in Mavoko area in Athi River , the gate.was allegedly damaged by police officers during a Demolition attempt in the area. [Peterson Githaiga/Standard]

Panic has gripped residents of Athi-River, Mavoko in Machakos County over alleged police harassment, intimidation, and looming forceful evictions amid an ongoing land regularization exercise.

Devastated locals claim that the process of legally settling them on a 1,200-acre parcel of land has been hijacked by rogue brokers, who are now using uniformed, masked, and armed police officers to terrorize them.

Kenya Commercial Bank (KCB) began the land regularization process in November last year, allowing occupants to legally acquire land by paying in installments over a period of up to three years.

However, residents say the initiative has since been marred by intimidation, with rogue cartels threatening to evict even those who have paid deposits and are consistently paying monthly installments.

In the past two days, fearful locals have been forced to spend nights together in vigil after receiving threats that demolitions would be carried out in the dead of night. Several home entrances have already been destroyed by unknown individuals, allegedly under police watch, leaving behind a trail of fear and confusion.

"We are complying with the official process, yet we are being harassed and threatened," said one resident.

The residents are now calling on security agencies to urgently intervene and investigate the rogue brokers and complicit police officers allegedly involved in the harassment.

This crisis unfolds despite recent assurances from Deputy President Kithure Kindiki during his Ukambani tour, where he promised that no demolitions would occur in the area.

Land conflict remains rampant in Mavoko Sub-county, often attributed to rogue land brokers, undeveloped land, and the high number of squatters in the region.