Mau settlers to get title deeds after bitter legal battle

Kenya Forest Service officers patrol Marioshoni in the Eastern Mau Forest Complex during an operation to flash out illegal settlers on July 11, 2020. [File, Standard]

For decades, thousands of families in six settlement schemes established in 1995 at the foot of Eastern Mau Forest in Nakuru have been living on the edge.

This is however set to change following a September 30, 2024 court ruling upholding the validity of a 2001 cut line which defines the boundary between the forest and the schemes.

The residents moved to court in 2020 protesting lack of clarity on the boundary which the government had shifted affecting the schemes in Neissuit, Marioshoni, Sururu, Likia, Sigotik and Terit.

It is a sigh of relief for families after the court acknowledged the October 2001 notice excising 35,301 hectares for the establishment of six schemes.

The residents are hoping that the government will honour the court order to issue them with title deeds within 12 months.

"The court has done us justice. The uncertainty has caused us a lot of suffering. You can never have peace on a land you don't have a title deed," said Joel Langat, a resident.

While majority of the residents have never known the feeling of holding a title deed in their name, a few had been issued with the document but a caveat was imposed on them.

"The area has great potential which will now be unlocked. People can engage in serious farming and develop their parcels. Confidence will also incubate new ideas," said Langat.
The schemes are major food basket for Nakuru county.

Langat regretted that lack of development had exposed the communities to marginalisation due to limited access to education.

"We have very few schools which are crowded. This is an opportunity for both the government and private sector to freely invest in our education infrastructure," he said.

Kennedy Koskei said the title deeds will enable the community to secure credit from financial institutions to boost their livelihood.

"We are stepping towards economic freedom. Parents will be able to take loans, educate their children and raise capital for economic ventures to eradicate poverty," said Koskei.

Judith Kalya, a resident of Kapsinendet village, said that the area lacks hospitals which would have been established long ago were it not for the caveat.

"We have people willing to invest in the health sector. However, not many can risk making investments of such magnitude in an environment we have been kept in," said Mrs Kalya.
She lamented that they are forced to walk long distances to access health facilities.

"It is now clear this is a settlement and not a forest. We should now give us our fair share of development resources for us to enjoy like other parts of the county," said Mrs Kalya.

Joseph Chebochok, another elder noted that lack of title deeds was among factors that sparked clashes among communities living within the schemes.

"The government kept moving the beacons. This caused tension. Communities started seeing each other as rivals. These actions sparked wars that claimed lives," said Chebochok.

The said the clashes exposed them to social and economic suffering.

"Homes and trading centers were razed down in clashes. Many have never recovered from the losses. Most structures here are temporary and indignifying," said Chebochok.