Isiolo residents threaten to block LAPSSET project over land compensation claims

NAIROBI: Residents of Isiolo have threatened to block the construction of Lapsset project which includes a pipeline on their land saying they have not been involved in discussions.

They claimed they have been kept in the dark as the government continues implementing national projects that have encroached on their community land.

The elders told Land Development and Governance Institute (LGDI) forum in Nairobi that they are baffled by the action of the government to put up projects in the middle of their homes without their consent.

"We will resist any attempt by the state to stretch beacons into our compound. This is an attempt by the government to displace us without any compensation," said Isiolo resident Omar Godan Dida.

Mr Dida who is the chairperson of Nasulu community conservancy told the forum that they are infuriated by a government decision to invade their ancestral land.

"We want to tell President Kenyatta that the law recognizes the community land ownership. The state should not use force by using heavily armed security officers guarding surveyors to force beacons into our homes. This action is a recipe for conflicts," Mr Dida warned.

Mr Dida who is also a human right activist is among 450 residents of Isiolo County who have been affected by the expansion of Isiolo –Moyale road under construction.

He said the community is facing eviction from their homes even as the government remain silent on plans to compensate them adding that the projects affects more than 40,000 residents in the region.

However the government only recognizes valid land title deeds.

They are worried that only those with title deeds are likely to be considered for compensation compared to those who do not have the document.

"We don't have the title deeds for this land because since independence our land has been under trust land which translated into a community and is constitutionally recognized as our land by law. We have not seen how a title deed looks like," Community chair lady Lucy Ekitela said.

Mrs Ekitela said Kenya National Highway Authority (KENHA) and National Land Commission (NLC) were behind land woes in the region following their crude action to instil fear to the residents by using armed security officers to guard the expansion of the road network in the region.

The Isiolo- Moyale road which is being constructed by Chinese company will connect Kenya to Ethiopia in the Northern Kenya to open up the regional trade between Kenya and Ethiopia.

"I came home from a walk only to find a beacon planted 45 metres inside my compound. I was not informed of any government plan to expand the road. Shockingly, when I inquired from the surveyors they warned me not to question government project," he lamented.

Mr Dida l said they are not questioning the government projects like Pipeline, resort city, Lapsset corridor and road which would benefit them. But he questioned an attempt by the state to evict them from their ancestral land without their Knowledge.

Lamu leaders led by Khurema Mohamed claimed that National Land Commission (NLC) officials in Nairobi were corruptly issuance of land title deeds to private developers in Lamu. He argued that his ancestral land which he lives to date had been grabbed by well connected people.

The Chairman of the Land Development and governance Institute (LGDI) Ibrahim Mwathane raised a red flag that land conflicts will soon explode in the region if the state fails to resolve the matter.

"We noted in our three year land research report which we have unveiled to the key players that there is a serious discrepancy in land adjudication ,allocation and issuance  of land title deeds in the region which may soon create conflicts between the locals and the government," Mr  Mwathane warned.