In one of his maiden speeches after election, President William Ruto told Kenyans that, ‘If there are people claiming land upon which another citizen has built a home, we will work with both the land owners and those who have developed the property so that we can create a win-win settlement’.
Analysts saw this as a problematic solution to the unending land disputes that October 13th 2022.
A year into his presidency, there were a bunch of people that were waiting on the wings to pounce and desposess the mwananchi of his land. They are well-oiled, highly placed, and ruthless in their dealings.
Activist Boniface Mwangi shares how they operate
There is a bold land-grabbing cartel operating in Nairobi, working with government employees. Every day, a new victim walks into our office at @SemaUkweliKenya. We are becoming like the Wild, Wild West, a country where the crooks trample over the weak and feast on them like greedy hyenas.
Surprisingly, there is a trend where the majority of the grabbers have the same ethnicity. It’s a community that l grew up with – some of my close friends come from that community – and their reputation was always hardworking, honest people. The ones l grew up with, and even the ones who are my friends today, don’t do drugs or alcohol. Now some of the members of that community are in the frontline of land grabbing.
CAPTION: President William Ruto speaking on 12th October 2022.
Their modus operandi is to identify a plot they can develop, research into the owner(s), and find a tenant who lives there, or someone who can act as a front, to claim ownership of the property. The front person gets crooked lawyers to sign fake affidavits, which they submit in court with a fake title deed. The court doesn’t bother to ascertain ownership, or even call the real landowner, before they issue an eviction order ex-parte. Once that happens, you, or your tenants are evicted, and goons move in. The police are bribed to look the other way. Then intimidation and coercion start. The land grabber will offer you small money to force you to sell your land, and assure you that if you refuse the money, or go public, you will still lose your property. They target women land owners, especially widows, and are currently specialising in stealing land in South B, South C, Pangani, Kileleshwa and Eastleigh. It’s a matter of time before they start targeting land anywhere, and everywhere.
They are even stealing government property, with the help of Cabinet and Permanent Secretaries. I foresee the next move for these bold thieves will be to murder anyone whose property they want to steal. I hope that doesn’t happen, but this is Kenya, where lawlessness and impunity are the order of the day. As a Nairobi landowner, please put your updated particulars on Ardhi Sasa, and secure all proof of land purchase and original documents in a bank safe, or somewhere they can’t be stolen. Do not, and l repeat, do not give your original documents to your lawyer for safekeeping, give them copies instead. #SemaUkweli #TeamCourage
Ruto a convicted land grabber
In June 28th 2013, the High Court ordered then Deputy President William Ruto to surrender a 100-acre farm in the lush Rift Valley and pay compensation to Adrian Muteshi, a farmer who had accused him of grabbing the land during the 2007/2008 post-election violence.
Justice Rose Ougo ordered Ruto to vacate the farm and pay compensation of 5 million shillings ($58,200).
Muteshi died on 27th October 2020 without receiving compensation.
In April 2011, William Ruto and his co-accused, Joshua Kulei and Sammy Mwaita were acquitted of Sh272 million land fraud charges for lack of evidence. They had been charged with fraudulently obtaining Sh272 million from KPC by selling it plots in the Ngong Forest in 2001.
