The expansion of Mama Ngina University in Mutomo village, Gatundu South has been halted due to delays in compensating plot owners.
The government through the Ministry of Education has been seeking some 40 acres of the adjacent land for expanding the university, which currently sits on 10.3 acres.
The National Land Commission in May this year brokered a deal bringing the compensation row pitting Mutomo Land Owners Association and the government to an end.
The 179 property owners were to receive some Sh2.2 billion for their quarter-acre plots which have been acquired by the state to pave way for the university expansion.
However four months after the plot owners signed the compensation awards, they are yet to receive a dime sparking fears that the state arm-twisted them into ceding their land.
The group chairman Harun Gacheru said he has been knocking doors in the relevant offices including the NLC and the Ministry of Education seeking answers into the compensation delays.
“The NLC leadership told me they are waiting for money to be deposited in their accounts by the Ministry of Education. I proceeded to the ministry and had a meeting with the former Cabinet Secretary Prof George Magoha who told me they had requested the money from the National Treasury,” Gacheru told the property owners at a meeting at the university on Saturday.
The chairman noted that delays in releasing the money is not only delaying the expansion plan but has also caused pain and suffering to the plot owners.
“In the first place, we cannot develop the parcels or interfere with the properties on the parcels including trees and other plants which we being relied on by the plot owners. Again, after we signed the compensation awards, we were given a month to vacate. Most of the owners went to look for land in other places and entered into agreements with land owners and land buying and selling companies. We have already breached the agreements because we are yet to receive the money to facilitate our resettlement,” Gacheru said.
The chairman however exuded confidence in President William Ruto’s administration that it will expedite the compensation process and pave way for the university expansion, which he termed as a vital development pillar in Gatundu South.
“This university is key to opening Gatundu to other massive developments which will create jobs and bring wealth to our people. We are optimistic that the President will look into our plight and provide a solution. All we want is the compensation money to be released so that we can all settle once and for all,” he said.
Some of the plot owners who spoke at the meeting expressed displeasure with the manner the matter is being handled by the government, calling for a speedy conclusion of the compensation row.
Mary Wambui, a plot owner said she was depending on her parcel to farm crops which she’d sell and generate income, adding that she cannot set foot on her land since she agreed to cede it to the government.
“Nowadays I am hardly able to feed my family because the land that was my source of daily income is now gone. Stress and depression are now taking a toll on us because we went and secured loans to purchase land elsewhere hoping that we would receive our money on time only to be taken in circles. We are pleading with the relevant authorities to act swiftly and release the money to us. We are worried some of us especially the elderly, might die before receiving a coin,” Wambui said.
Meanwhile, the group chairman has asked some nine plot owners who have been opposing takeover of their parcels by the university. He pleaded with them to drop their hard stance on the matter and cede their land to the state for the sake of developments in the area.
The nine land owners who have disputed the deal filed a case in court claiming there was no public participation.
The residents objecting the university expansion plans led by Margaret Njeri said they will not leave their ancestral land for any reason claiming that they will not bear the pain of exhuming their loved ones including their forefathers.
Gatundu South MP Gabriel Kagombe who attended the meeting said he will follow up the matter with the relevant authorities including the NLC and the Ministry of Education to find a solution.
“I’m still not aware of the issues surrounding this matter but in a week’s time I will have knocked the right doors and gotten answers,” Kagombe said.
Once the project affected persons vacate their parcels of land, the university which is a constituent college of Kenyatta University, will occupy the adjacent land for expansion.