Judiciary, Interior Ministry clash over land in Naivasha

Workers erect a fence under orders from the Naivasha Deputy County Commissioner around land claimed by the Naivasha Law Courts. [Antony Gitonga, Standard]

A dispute over ownership of a prime piece of land in Naivasha has strained the relationship between the Judiciary and the Ministry of Interior.

The conflict arose after the Naivasha Deputy County Commissioner’s (DCC) office attempted to annex land adjacent to the Naivasha law courts, allegedly following orders from higher authorities.

The Judiciary, claiming ownership of the same land, has taken legal action through the Law Society of Kenya (LSK) to prevent the DCC’s ongoing fencing activities.

Workers erect a fence under orders from the Naivasha Deputy County Commissioner around land claimed by the Naivasha Law Courts. [Antony Gitonga, Standard]

Over the weekend, hired youths, under armed police supervision, dismantled structures on the land and took some of the materials to the Naivasha police station.

According to Mbugua Macharia, a member of the Rift Valley LSK Council, the move was illegal because the land had been under judicial management for years.

The High Court advocate stated that they had obtained orders from the Environment Court to halt the fencing, but the DCC had ignored them.

“We are reminded of times when court orders were disregarded, but we will pursue contempt of court charges against the DCC,” he said.

Flanked by members of the Naivasha society, Mbugua expressed concern that the Judiciary was unaware of how the Ministry of Interior acquired the land.

“The judiciary has confirmed that this is their land and is a party to the cases filed in the environmental court,” he added.

Fencing works around Naivasha Law Courts under the Deputy County Commissioner’s direction. [Antony Gitonga, Standard]

Another lawyer, Peter Ng’ang’a, mentioned that small-scale traders operating on the land had not been served with any notices.

He added that information from the Ministry of Land indicated the land belonged to the Judiciary, and he suspected malicious intent behind the fencing by the DCC’s office.

“The DCC’s office was served with a court order stopping the demolition, but this was ignored, leaving some traders who relied on the land jobless,” he said.

One of the affected traders, Douglas Kariuki, said that he had worked on the land for over 20 years before his business was demolished without any notice.

“We have worked under the courts, and we are asking why we had to be kicked out like dogs and our property looted and destroyed, yet we had not refused to move out,” he said.

Speaking on the phone, Naivasha DCC Josiah Odongo defended the move, saying that his office was protecting government land from encroachment by fencing it.