The government has started evicting hundreds of people who had bought property next to the disputed 3,000-acre piece of land that was dramatically repossessed last week to pave way for the expansion of the Dandora Sewerage Treatment Plant in Ruai, Nairobi.
This comes as Deputy President William Ruto denied being the mystery owner of the land that has for the past week been associated with him in sections of the media.
“Ownership of land is determined by a title. Show me the title with the DP’s name and I will respond,” Mr David Mugonyi, the DP’s spokesman, told the Nation.
Dr Ruto has remained silent over the property, opting to let his allies take the flak.
Some 40 bulldozers, under heavy police protection, continue to tear down any structures erected on the expansive parcel.
“I’m confident that after we’re done with Ruai land and the saga around it, the momentum will be maintained as we interrogate how a few families got to own more than half of Kenya,” Kiharu MP Ndindi Nyoro posted on his Facebook page.
“We keep hiding real facts under the carpet while pretending to appear ‘good’. Let us know from whom they bought these parcels, who they paid, and they must show us receipts,” he said.
By Thursday, a huge 50-foot wide ditch had been dug round the property to prevent encroachment.
Police watched as vandals completed the demolition and carted away construction materials and steel rods.
Eastpark Police Station, which has for years guarded the property from squatters and people asking questions, has been deserted, with the officers who were stationed there waiting to know their fate. The station has also not been spared by the vandals.
For those who had bought property on land adjacent to the disputed parcel, however, the surprise decision by the government has come at a huge cost.
The government’s plan is to consolidate the original LR No. 12979, measuring approximately 5,319.91 hectares, which was transferred to the Settlement Fund Trustee on December 5, 1986.
The land was questionably split into LR Nos. 12979/1, 12979/2, 12979/3 and 12979/4.
LR No. 12979/1 — measuring 1,716.9 hectares — is where the Dandora Sewerage Treatment Plant stands. LR No. 121297/3 (1,000 acres) and LR No. 12979/4 (1,600 acres) said to belong to Offshore Trading Company and Renton Company Limited were repossessed last week.
LR No. 12979/2 — measuring approximately 3,614.2 hectares — which has partly been occupied by squatters is the one being repossessed now.
On Monday, they were given a 72-hour notice to vacate the property or be forcibly evicted.
Over 1,000 families had built houses and other permanent structures while others engaged in farming.
They now have to move from the place they have called home for years after the allotment letters they were given by the people who sold them the parcels were turned to mere pieces of paper.
On a tour of the land, we saw lorries, donkeys and pick-ups ferrying household property as people rushed to demolish their houses.
The rainy season has not made things any easier, as the black cotton soil has made the place inaccessible.
“Where was the government for all these years if it is true that the land had been grabbed? We should be compensated,” lamented Ms Mary Kiloo, an affected resident.
Mr Peter Kariuki added: “Where will I go since I put all my entire savings here after selling my other properties? Families have placed their money here and you want to suddenly tell us it was in vain. That is very unfair.”
It has, however, emerged that there were existing court orders all along preventing the use, transfer or development of the property, now worth over Sh20 billion going by current market rates.
The orders were issued by Justices John Mutungi, Lucy Gacheru and Pauline Nyamweya after Ruai Squatters Settlement Scheme sued Renton and City Hall to stop their eviction from the property.
In a show of impunity, Renton somehow acquired approvals from Nairobi County for the construction of multiple apartment blocks, hotels and a school on the land.
Former Nairobi Governor Evans Kidero’s administration granted the approvals on November 14, 2013.
The approvals were given a year after Renton attempted to sell the 1,600 acres of land it claims to Magereza Sacco, a savings and credit society for Kenya Prisons staffers.
Magereza Sacco was on the brink of buying the parcel, L.R. Number 12979/4, which was then valued at Sh8.8 billion.
However, it was unable to raise the Sh300 million deposit agreed on, which saw the deal collapse.
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