Dispute forces group to camp at ministry

Kenya: A group of elderly people aged between 60 and 87 years are camping at the Ministry of Lands of offices in Nairobi, hundreds of kilometres away from their home.

The 12 who are members of the Kagumo Munyaka Company Ltd from Subukia Constituency in Nakuru are protesting the alleged sale of their land by some of their directors.

They claim their company owns least 1,500 acres of land and each member is entitled to two acres.

The Kagumo Munyaka members said they have no land to farm because a group of people purporting to be the directors of the company have started selling off the land to interested buyers.

The group traveled to Nairobi to seek audience with the Ministry of Lands Cabinet Secretary Charity Ngilu who they say is their last hope.

Speaking to The Standard outside the Lands offices, the chairman of the group,  Raphael Kabure Marugu, 87, pointed out that the trouble on that land started way back in 1984.

"We had elections in the 80's where the first group of directors were ousted. The new directors said we buy more land and some land was identified in Laikipia and we gave money to buy land but they misappropriated it and the land was never bought," he explained.

Mr Marugu said they have been to court six times and the ruling has been in their favour but that has not stopped those who they say purport to be the directors of the company.

The chair of the company which has over 300 members pointed out that the land had already been subdivided to the members after a ballot and all they were waiting for were title deeds.

Francis Ngare Mathenge who was part of the group accused Subukia's administration of harassing them for trying to follow up on their land.