Locals oppose plan to upgrade area to town

Locals oppose plan to upgrade area to town

A group has opposed plans to upgrade Taita location to be part of Nkubu municipality.

The residents from 12 clans composing 300 households claim the expansion of town boundaries will eat into their ancestral land. They have faulted the county government for not doing adequate consultation on the matter.

The proposed Nkubu municipality master-plan covers about 50 square kilometres, swallowing Nkubu, Kanyakine, Ntharene, Mwichiune, Kamachege, Mikumbune, Ukuu, Kaguru and Kiigene, all in South Imenti, as well as Mujwa and Kariene in neighbouring Central Imenti.

The dissenting residents claimed a public participation forum held last March 19 was only attended by a few consenting locals.

They said venue was hastily moved from Kaguru Farmers Training Centre to Imenti South Deputy County Commissioner’s boardroom.

They claimed a notice for the meeting was issued on March 8, giving less than the mandatory 21-day notice and only circulated to a few people.

County government correspondence shows 93 residents attended the forum.

The residents, led by Julius Nyagah, on March 29 wrote to the Meru Lands, Physical Planning and Urban Development Executive Jeremiah M’Iringo, through lawyer Tom K’Opere, giving notice to file legal proceedings to stop the upgrade.

The residents had also written to the World Bank, through its country director, asking the institution not to finance projects in the proposed municipality. But the county government claims there is no project financed by World Bank.

On May 25, Jackson Muriungi, writing for M’Iringo, accused the residents of claiming falsely that there was a plan to upgrade the township, funded by the World Bank.

“What we are undertaking is Urban Integrated Spatial Planning, which is a legal requirement under County Governments Act No 17 of 2012,” says a letter to Mr K'Opere from Mr Muriungi.

The letter is also copied to the World Bank office and to Victor Ogutu, the Kenya Urban Support Programme coordinator at the State Ministry of Transport, Infrastructure, Housing and Urban Development.

The residents claim plot owners in the township have never been issued with allotment letters or lease documents, which should be a priority before the upgrade to municipality status.