Over 3,000 residents in Gikumari village, Ruiru subcounty can now heave a sigh of relief after the government intervened in the standoff pitting them and an unknown private developer.
Residents of Ruiru East Block 4, who were members of the Juja Farm 1976 Ltd and Githunguri Ranching Company, have been entangled in a tussle over the land measuring 2,550 acres with unknown high ranking individuals, who invaded the property last month and started constructing roads.
Locals have been pointing an accusing finger at the government for shielding the alleged grabbers, after the local authorities in a recent meeting at the village told the residents that their title deeds were fake, and that they would be evicted in due course.
However, during her visit at the Ruiru Lands Registry on Thursday, Lands CS Alice Wahome confirmed that after thorough investigation of the matter, her office has established that the title deeds held by the residents are authentic, and that the invaders were fraudsters who had forged documents to gain access to the land.
The CS who was accompanied by Ruiru MP Simon King' ara and Ruiru Lands Registrar Robert Mugendi, said the crooks forged a title deed purporting that it belonged to Ruiru East Block 4.
"They initially started with LR No 72811 for the entire block and then found that may not work, they cancelled it and came up with LR No 172788. As of today, the document being floated and a copy was forwarded to me and I will not say by who, but in some official capacity other than the land office. That title belongs 72811 to property LR No 295/343 situated in the City of Nairobi measuring 0.4063 ha. This property is currently registered under Evangelical Mission for Africa. That number belongs to another parcel of land and it was brought to the land for Ruiru East Block 4," Wahome said.
She noted that according to the Title Register, the document LR 172788 was later issued to LR No 5180/1, a land parcel situated in Nayuki, Nyeri District, Nyeri county.
"This means that we do not have any title going by the Number 172788. Ruiru East Blcok 4 and is not available for conversion or for issuance with any other title. It is a clear forgery," she said.
The CS also noted that in the fraudulent title deed, there's an alleged entry which indicates that there was a charge to Dubai Bank for a Sh12 million overdraft entered on December 11, 1997. This is despite Dubai Bank entering into the Kenyan market in 2000.
"I also have a registrar by the name J.O Koech who allegedly signed the title deed, and I asked her whether she knows the signature on the document, and she has said the signature is a forgery and she is willing to give a statement," she said.
The CS pointed out that the invaders, who have been invoking names of high ranking government officials, must be kicked out of the land and tough legals measures be instituted against them."
"The land has been subdivided into quarter acres and into three and a quarter acres, and those titles are within my registry here and are good titles. They are authentic titles. The people who are on that land other than the owners who have original and authentic title deeds, must vacate immediately," Wahome said.
She added; "I have been told they are using names and dropping names. This has nothing to do with the government, we do not know about those titles and there's no land available for grabbing in Ruiru."
The CS also called for withdrawal of police officers who have been guarding the fraudsters as they construct roads within the property, saying she has already written to Interior CS Prof Kithure Kindiki over the same.
"I will ask my colleague Kindiki to find out who is taking our police officers to do the wrong work. We are not doing any housing project there and there's no government project that's being undertaken there. The officers may have been falling prey of some fraudsters. The DCI should hit the road running and bring the fraudsters to book," she said.
King'ara commended the CS for responding to the cries of the Gikumari residents who had spent sleepless nights over the Christmas and New Year festivities fearing eviction.
Locals led by Jennifer Ng'ang'a hailed the government for the intervention noting that the saga has seen many residents and especially the elderly, suffer.
They also called for removal of area Deputy County Commissioner Margaret Mbugua for misleading them and overseeing invasion of their property by fraudsters.