- Details
- East Africa
- 544
Hundreds of machete-wielding youths invaded part of the Vipingo Sisal farm in Kilifi County.
They annexed a section of the farm and put up houses in the wee hours of Good Friday.
Kilifi South police commander George Madoli said the youth numbering about 500 invaded the expansive sisal plantation along the Mombasa-Malindi Highway claiming ancestral ownership of the land.
He said the intruders produced copies of title deeds which they alleged show the land that was leased by Vipingo Sisal Estate belonged to their forefathers. According to them, the lease had expired.
In a phone interview, Mr Mrima Wanyepe who claimed to be the chairman of the landless in the area said the 800-acre disputed land was supposed to be distributed at the beginning of this year.
''Vipingo Sisal Estate lease expired and we applied to have our ancestral land reverted back, we obtained the title deed for 800 acres of the land from the Ministry of Lands which was supposed to divide it for us,” he said..
A copy of the certificate of title deed shows the document was issued on December 13 last year. The Standard could not, however, independently establish the authenticity of the document.
But Wanyepe claimed the county government of Kilifi was supposed to facilitate the adjudication and subdivision of the 800 acres for the squatters. “But it has been postponing the exercise,” he said.
The police said it was not possible for them to tell the genuine title deeds produced by the squatters and the investor yesterday.
“The youth have invaded the sisal farms in Vipingo claiming ownership. The security team wants to engage lawyers representing both parties and they have agreed we meet later to discuss and resolve the issue amicably.
Mr Madoli said they had established that the warring parties met at the office of the County Commissioner of Kilifi last Tuesday but failed to agree on who between the investor and the locals owns the land.
“Yes, we met at the County Commissioner’s office. We have a mother title deed as members of the Bambani association, we do not know who else has a title to the same land,” said Wanyepe.
He said some 500,000 people have for years lived as squatters around the Vipingo Sisal plantation. The villagers are also in court seeking an extra 3,900 acres of the sisal plantation.
In January, Justice Millicent Odeny ruled that a title deed held by the villagers for the 3,900-acre land was illegal, dealing a blow to the squatters who claimed the land belonged to their ancestors.
Justice Odeny said that the title acquired by the Bambani and Kikandale community in July 2020 was superimposed on another held by the NSE-listed Vipingo Development Ltd.
The locals had sought the court’s affirmation to be declared the registered owners of the property measuring about 3,911 acres. Yesterday Wanyepe said they have appealed the matter.
Joshua Kenga, one of the squatters said the sisal farm is their ancestral land and that they will not relent until they get it.
On Thursday, President William Ruto promised to end the squatter problem at the Coast. He said the State had set aside Sh2 billion for buying land from absentee landlords where squatters will be settled. By Marion Kithi , The Standard
David Ndii, Chairperson of President William Ruto's Council of Economic Advisors, on Saturday, April 8, revealed the government could have faced a dilemma days before reports on salary delays surfaced.
Ndii, while responding to a series of concerns, indicated that President William Ruto's administration was in a fix on whether to pay the debt or suffer the consequences of defaulting.
Explaining the fix, the economists revealed that the government directed almost 60 per cent of the revenue collected to service debts.
Less than 40 per cent of the collected revenue was reserved for paying salaries and supporting other government expenditures.
Ndii further implied that cash resources were short in supply, whereas the demand was high from various sectors, including public servants.
Following the dilemma, Ndii asked whether Ruto should pay the loans or salaries.
"Is public finance that difficult? It's reported every other day debt service is consuming 60 per cent plus of revenue. Liquidity crunches come with the territory. When maturities bunch up, or revenue falls short, or markets shift, something has to give. Salaries or default? Take your pick," Ndii posed.
"Foreign debt is not the the issue. I'm talking about weekly maturities of domestic debt held by your banks and pension funds (80 per cent plus of debt service)," he further clarified.
However, Ndii revealed that Ruto approached him following his projection that Kenya would run broke due to debts, in 2014.
After winning the presidential election, he brought him to help his administration solve the cash crunch issue.
" I believe we can make a difference," he assured concerned Kenyans.
MPs Miss Salaries
The economic expert issued the clarification after several public servants, including members of parliament, raised concerns about salary delays.
On Friday, April 7, Minority Leader in the National Assembly Opiyo Wandayi claimed he had not received his March salary. The lawmaker accused Ruto's administration of failing to ensure public servants are properly and timely enumerated.
Further, Wandayi castigated the government, calling for an audit of its public coffers.
"For the first time in our history, even MPs have not been paid as we head towards mid-month.
"Only members of the security services - police and military - have been paid as we speak and the reason must be obvious to all," Wandayi claimed.
Besides MPs, the cash crunch affected Kenya Broadcasting Corporation employees. In a letter dated Wednesday, April 5, Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Samuel Maina, asked staff to exercise patience as the media house rushed to solve the crisis.
The CEO pledged to unveil strategies to cushion workers them and their families.
"Management regrets to inform you that we are unable to pay the March 2023 salaries before Easter Holidays due to unavoidable circumstances," Maina stated
Treasury's Stance
On February 8, Treasury Cabinet Secretary told MPs that the country was experiencing financial constraints affecting normal government operations.
He, however, maintained that the government was keen to address the cash crunch crisis.
"The government is like a home. Sometimes you may have needs but there is no money for that. However, when you work hard, you will finally get money to address your needs," he stated. by , Kenyans.co.ke
Informer East Africa is a UK based diaspora Newspaper. It is a unique platform connecting East Africans at home and abroad through news dissemination. It is a forum to learn together, grow together and get entertained at the same time.
To advertise events or products, get in touch by info [at] informereastafrica [dot] com or call +447957636854.
If you have an issue or a story, get in touch with the editor through editor[at] informereastafrica [dot] com or call +447886544135.
We also accept donations from our supporters. Please click on "donate". Your donations will go along way in supporting the newspaper.