Thika residents have called for land clinics to sort out multiple allocation rows and protect public property from notorious grabbers.
They said land grabbing has increased with unscrupulous developers now targeting both public parcels and small plots belonging to residents.
Their outcry follows numerous grabbing of parcels belonging to schools, police posts, hospitals, social halls, recreational facilities and squatters.
The grabbers are working in cahoots with corrupt officials at the county and Lands Ministry to forge ownership documents, they said.
Last month, private developers attempted to grab a section of the Thika cemetery but were thwarted by residents.
Thika Town MP Patrick Wainaina said a land clinic by the ministry will help sort out the disputes and reclaim stolen public property.
Wainaina who spoke in Thika town said he had already written to Lands Cabinet Secretary Faridah Karoney and was expecting the ministry to initiate a clinic in the town once the Covid-19 pandemic is contained.
The lawmaker noted there have been ownership disputes and unending conflicts over land matters especially in Kisii, Kiganjo, Kiangombe, Makongeni, Landless, Riverside, Salama and Gatuanyaga areas within his constituency.
“There has been increasing complaints from residents on grabbing of public land in many parts of the constituency. We believe the proposed land clinic will assist to assess the ownership of diverse parcels of land with disputes as well as determine ownership of public land in all the affected areas,” Wainaina said.
He raised concern about the many land buying and selling companies in Thika that he said have been in operation for decades without issuing their members with ownership documents.
Wainaina blamed the firms for the many cases of multiple allocations of land parcels that have resulted in disputes and prolonged court cases.
“There are numerous land buying companies that have been taking advantage of innocent members to defraud them on land-related matters and we believe the land clinic will offer a sound solution to this mess,” he said.
The MP also demanded digitisation of the Thika lands registry to streamline operations including enhancing speedy searches to determine ownership status.
“Members of the public have been complaining of loss of land green cards at the Thika lands registry leading to delays in land searches,” he said.
Thika West deputy county commissioner Mbogo Mathioya said a solution to the land feuds will be found after a month-long exercise.
"The land clinics are usually conducted for a month and we hope that all these land disputes we are witnessing will be resolved," Mathioya said.
Squatters in Thika have also suffered in the hands of the grabbers. Most of those affected are the Kiang’ombe squatters group and the Maasai Village Women Self-Help Group.
Milkah Wangui, the Kiang’ombe squatters chairperson, said the more than 500 families were allocated the land 15 years ago, but are yet to be issued with titles.
She said cartels have been blocking their way to access the ownership documents.
Wangui welcomed the move to have a land clinic in Thika saying it will end the many land disputes in the area and bring relief to squatters.
Edited by P.O