Girl dies in trench, residents block road in protest

Thousands of commuters were stranded on Wednesday in Suswa, Narok county, after furious residents blocked the road to protest against the death of a nine-year-old girl who fell into a  roadside trench.

The protest took place in the morning near Kedong Ranch where the 11-foot-deep trench was dug. The girl stumbled into the trench on Tuesday evening, and the mud caved in on her.

Protesters paralysed transport on the busy Narok-Mai Mahiu highway for several hours as they barricaded the road by burning tyres and piling rocks on the highway. 

Vehicles from Nairobi were backed up as far as Satellite area; those from Western Kenya were queued as far as Suswa Trading Centre.

Land activist Kaza-Roho Torome claimed the owners of Kedong Ranch had dug a huge trench to mark the land boundary near the road and keep children and cattle from crossing.

“The young girl was going home at 7.30pm only to find the road had been dug. She fell into a trench which is 11 feet deep and was immediately buried by mud,” Torome said.

He asked why the land owners are in a hurry to develop the land while a court case is pending over ownership.

Efforts to reach officials of Kedong Ranch were unsuccessful as the number provided on their website did not go through.

Tempes Ntimama, son of former minister William Ntimama, was at the scene and deplored what he called the injustice of ranch ownership. He said the 78,000-acre Kedong Ranch originally belonged to the Maasais.

"I assure you I will organise a delegation to meet President Uhuru Kenyatta to give a lasting solution to this matter," Ntimama said.

A security team led by Kisilu Mutua later held discussions to end the stalemate. Residents demanded an end to trench-digging and demarcation. They said digging machinery must be removed to allow for an agreement.

In November 2019, members of the Maasai community living on the Kedong Ranch moved to court to stop their eviction.

More than 30,000 members have filed a petition at the Environment and Land Court in Nakuru seeking orders declaring them the genuine occupants of the land.

They want the court to restrain Kedong Ranch Ltd from selling, disposing of or dealing with the land in a manner detrimental to their occupation.

(Edited by V. Graham)