By OLIVER MUSEMBI
More than 600 squatters in Kiambu County are appealing to the government to settle them after 32 years of pursuing what they describe as elusive justice.
Members of the Kamiti Forest Squatters Association claim their resettlement has been stalled by court cases allegedly filed by individuals seeking to control the 400-acre parcel of land located near Ruiru town.
Speaking at the Thika Environment and Land Court, where one of the protracted cases was postponed for the third time, the squatters expressed frustration and appealed to President William Ruto to intervene and address their plight.
Led by association chairman Philip Kitavi, they said they had been denied justice for more than three decades since former President Daniel arap Moi directed in 1994 that part of Kamiti Forest be degazetted to facilitate their settlement.
Kitavi said his members had appeared in court for the third time this year, only to be informed that the court was on recess until September 15.
“We appeal to the government to act and end the years of anxiety and uncertainty. Many of the allottees have since died without getting their rights,” Kitavi said.
He claimed the settlement process had been hijacked by individuals using financial resources to frustrate the squatters’ efforts to secure the land.
Kitavi also appealed to Chief Justice Martha Koome to intervene and help resolve the long-running dispute.
He explained that the former President had allocated about 419 acres of forest land to former employees of the Forestry Department and other people who worked as casuals on neighbouring coffee farms after the area became a hideout for criminals who were allegedly harassing residents.
The association chairman said the majority of the current members were children of the initial beneficiaries of the allocation, many of whom had since died.
He appealed to the Judiciary, Parliament and the Ministry of Lands to intervene and ensure that the squatters’ claims are resolved.
Kitavi also accused wealthy individuals and some local administrators of frustrating the squatters by allegedly demolishing their houses and destroying their food crops.
He said the matter had also been presented before the Parliamentary Lands Committee, which had approved their claim for settlement.
“The matter was presented before Parliament and our claim was approved by the relevant committee. However, a cartel has been using the court to stall the settlement process,” Kitavi said.
Other members, including Alice Wanjiru, Eliud Kimani and Joseph Wanyoike, expressed concern over their future, saying their parents were buried on the disputed land, which they claimed had since been taken over by wealthy individuals.
“Our parents are buried on the land yet we cannot access their graves. These days, we are not even allowed to till the land as we used to before,” Wanjiru said.
The squatters said they would continue pursuing legal and administrative avenues to secure the land, urging the government to bring the decades-old dispute to an end.
