- Kirima's daughter, warned that the family had not appointed anyone to represent them in any negotiation.
- She said even as they are willing to engage victims who acquired the land from unscrupulous sellers, that will be done once the situation on the ground is assessed.
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A beneficiary of former Starehe MP Gerishon Kirima's Njiru land has dismissed purported negations between estate administrators, leaders and residents illegally on the 1000-acre land.
Speaking in a press conference on Saturday at a Nairobi Hotel, one of the beneficiaries Bishop Gathoni Kirima, Kirima's daughter, warned that the family had not appointed anyone to represent them in any negotiation.
She said even as they are willing to engage current occupants of the land, that will be done once the situation on the ground is assessed.
Gathoni said in the event a deal is arrived at with the victims, the land will be sold at the current market value.
"What we want the public to know is that the beneficiaries want their land back. There are no negotiations yet."
"If anyone wants to negotiate on the matter, he or she must include all beneficiaries. No one will negotiate on their behalf. We have not appointed anyone to negotiate for anyone, " she said.
She said despite Teresia Wairimu and Ann Wangari being the administrators of the Kirima Estate, they are not authorised to speak on behalf of the beneficiaries.
Teresia is Kirima’s widow and Anne is his daughter.
"Every beneficiary is now an adult. They can negotiate for themselves. As far as I am concerned I am not privy to any representative appointed by any beneficiary to lead the negotiations," Gathoni said.
She further defended the father's acquisition of the said land saying it is a product of hard work.
"Our father bought the land in 1977. This was not a political token but an asset bought from sheer hard work."
"We are delighted this long-standing issue has come to an end, we thank God and the Judiciary for upholding the sanctity of title."
While addressing the press conference, Gathoni was in the company of Lawyer Evans Ondieki.
Ondieki said the family had accepted Former Nairobi Governor Mike Sonko to the victims in the negotiations owing to the huge political interests the matter has attracted.
“We have decided to appoint Mike Sonko to be the champion who will address the interests of beneficiaries. He has been successful in Waitiki, South B and another Kirima property in Parklands,” stated Ondieki.
Gathoni stated that the family intends to conduct a land survey to establish the worth of the piece of land.
At the same time, she said they seek compensation from those illegally settled there on the land at current market value.
According to Gathoni, their father first bought 470 hectares of the land during which the family settled on the land and established an abbotteur.
She said over time, the family expanded the land by acquiring more parcels of land.
Gathoni said the land has already been distributed to bona fide beneficiaries.
"Justice Isaac Lenaola established the genuine beneficiaries of the land. This matter was settled 10 years ago where each beneficiary got his or her rightful share," she said.
On those challenging the plan, she said "that is their constitutional right but as it stands, the matter is already decided upon and the land is now".
Environment and Land Judge Samson Okong’o found Kirima to be the rightful owner of the disputed property that was being claimed by numerous people.
The court also gave another group 90 days to purchase some portions of the property from the administrators of the estate who are Teresia Wairimu Kirima and Anne Wangari Kirima.
The group had earlier bought the land from Kirima but the legal processes had not been exhausted.
“It is my finding from the evidence on record that Kirima issued receipts for the payments made for the purchase of portions of the land in the name of Embakasi ring road developers,” Okong’o said.