Former Treasury PS accuses police of failure to protect 700-acre land

Advocate Peter Okiro represents the former Treasury PS in a land dispute. [Julius Chepkwony, Standard]

Former Treasury PS Benjamin Kipkech Kipkulei has accused police of failing to protect his 700-acre property despite a court order barring a rival from entering or interfering with the disputed land.

In a letter to Nakuru County Police Commander Samuel Boit, and copied to the Inspector General of Police, Kipkulei, through his lawyer Peter Okiro, questioned whether the commander was behind the alleged continued defiance of court orders by Enock Rotich Kibet and his associates.

The latest letter has now brought the conduct of police officers into the dispute, with Kipkulei’s lawyers warning that they will pursue contempt proceedings if the alleged interference continues.

The lawyer warned the police over what he described as disregard of the law. He asked Boit to clarify whether he is behind the alleged actions, warning that Kipkulei would move to court if the alleged violations continued.

“The obvious purpose of this letter is to seek clear clarification from you as to whether you are behind these illegal actions as claimed, for we shall be instituting contempt of court proceedings within no time,” read the letter in part.

 According to the letter, police officers were initially deployed to ensure compliance with the court orders issued in June but were later recalled.

 “Within no time, the said officers were recalled, as Enock Rotich Kibet and his goons laid ambush on the property and wreaked havoc by illegally harvesting and carting away our client’s trees,” the letter reads in part.

They claimed the alleged activities were continuing despite the orders and said the financial losses had already run into millions of shillings.

 The lawyer further claims that Kibet and his associates had boasted that they were protected from police action.

 “Mr Enock and his associates confirmed boastfully that they will continue with the defiance of the said court orders as they enjoy maximum protection from you, and even the OCS and the OCPD cannot interfere with their wanton distractions as you have given strict instructions that Mr Kibet and his cronies should remain untouched,” the letter states.

Kipkulei in documents filed in court states he is the registered proprietor of LR No. 9748/6 and Nyota/Lagwenda Block 1/3, formerly LR No. 9748/5, which he says collectively measure more than 700 acres.

Kipkulei has sued Kibet.

Kipkulei says the original parcel, LR No. 9748/1, was transferred to him in November 1998 before it was subdivided into LR No. 9748/5 and LR No. 9748/6. He told the court that LR No. 9748/5 was later converted into Nyota/Lagwenda Block 1/3, where he has been undertaking large-scale farming.

Kipkulei disputes Kibet’s claim to the land through adverse possession, arguing that the subdivision process began in 2012 and was completed in 2023.

He said the process involved physical surveys and placement of boundary beacons, making Kibet’s claim of uninterrupted occupation legally untenable.

The former PS also accused Kibet of forcefully entering the property, destroying his farmhouse, putting up temporary structures and felling 274 trees.

 Kipkulei argued that unless restrained, he stood to suffer substantial financial losses, including missing an entire farming season.

 Kibet, however, has disputed the allegations and maintained that he has occupied the land openly, continuously and exclusively since 2012.

 He told the court that he had built a home, fenced the property, cultivated it season after season and invested heavily in its development.

 He also argued that any losses suffered by Kipkulei could be compensated through damages.

In her ruling dated June 9, 2026, Justice Loyce Komingoi noted that documents before the court showed the land had been transferred to Kipkulei in 1998, while Kibet had not produced evidence showing that Christopher Cherop Chetalam, whom he had sued in separate proceedings, remained the registered proprietor.

The court also found that the ongoing subdivision process undermined Kibet’s claim of uninterrupted adverse possession from 2012.

 Justice Komingoi issued a temporary injunction restraining Kibet, his agents and anyone acting on his behalf from entering, cultivating or interfering with the disputed land.

 She also ordered Kibet and anyone claiming through him to immediately vacate Nyota/Lagwenda Block 1/3 and LR No. 9748/6.

 The Officer Commanding Sirikwa Police Station was directed to oversee enforcement of the orders and maintain law and order.

 However, the judge declined to find Kibet in contempt, holding that an earlier status quo order issued on March 31, 2026, did not clearly define the situation on the ground and could therefore not support contempt proceedings.