The government has committed itself to resolving within two months a land dispute in Naivasha that has been running on for the last 40 years.
The government admitted the long process to resolve the dispute in Ndabibi had adversely affected development plans and coexistence of residents.
The dispute pitting two groups, Mwana Mwireri and Ndibithi and a private developer, revolves around over 900 acres that once belonged to the Agricultural Development Corporation.
This emerged during a tense meeting in Ndabibi where members of the two groups met senior government officers under tight security.
During the meeting, it was agreed that each group furnishes the government with ownership documents in two weeks before a final decision is made.
Addressing the emotional farmers, Naivasha subcounty commissioner Kisilu Mutua said that land and DCI officers would go through the documents to establish which ones were authentic.
He decried the period it had taken to resolve the dispute, noting that he was keen to get to the bottom of the protracted land row.
“In the next two weeks we shall go through the documents and by end of November we shall come back here and make our findings,” he said on Monday.
Kisilu issued a notice to inciters that security officers were keenly monitoring them, adding that they would not allow bloodshed in the area where tens of lives have already been lost.
“There are some people who have been going around collecting cash from the farmers and we shall summon them so that this cash can be audited,” he said.
A member of Ndibithi group, Edward Maina, welcomed the move to audit all the land documents, noting that some were fake.
He added that they were some of the first people to arrive on the land back in 1964 and questioned an agreement from the splinter group obtained in 1974.
“Originally, this land was 900 acres which ADC sold to members of the public but currently the dispute is around 300 acres,” he said.
Ndibithi chairman Kimani Ng’ethe said many of the beneficiaries had died as they waited to get a parcel of the vast land, which was originally bought by their parents.
“We have suffered for years waiting for justice and we hope that this time around the dispute around this land will be resolved,” he said.
A member of Mwana Mwereri group, Benson Karenju, said they had all the legal documents indicating that they bought the land in 1977 at Sh9 million.
“We have over 2,500 members who have been waiting to get their share of land since 1977 and we hope that this time we shall get justice,” he said.
Edited by Henry Makori