Machakos County Commissioner Josephine Ouko has told 'squatters' owning parcels of land on LR NO. 8784/144/145 and 653 Mavoko belonging to the East African Portland Cement PLC to cooperate in the ongoing regularization process.
Ouko told the locals to seize the opportunity of the process being undertaken by Kenya Commercial Bank to legitimately own the parcels they currently occupy.
The entire land located along the Nairobi - Mombasa highway next to Green Park Gardens in Athi River, Machakos County measures 1,145 hectares.
It’s adjacent to the parcel, also owned by the cement grinder, on which the government conducted forcible evictions, rendering hundreds homeless last year.
"This is a rare opportunity, a God-given chance. Take advantage of it, don't lose this opportunity and don't be misled or misadvised," Ouko said.
Ouko spoke during a stakeholders' meeting to sensitize the public on the ongoing regularization process at the KCB's site office on the land on Wednesday.
She was accompanied by both the county and Athi River subcounty security and intelligence committees led by county police commander Patrick Lobolia.
"Register yourselves so that it be known that you are here and you have intentions. Try to your level best so that you fulfil what's required to legitimately own the parcels," Ouko said.
“Most of you have occupied this land for a long period of time, but with worries especially when the other side (section of EAPCC land) was demolished since you thought that similar demolitions could be effected on this parcel too,” Ouko said.
Ouko said there was a court order that ruled that those occupying the land be evicted, but President William Ruto’s administration intervened, hence the ongoing regularization.
She said as a government, they would ensure that the process is flawlessly conducted without corruption or security breaches of any kind.
Ouko said they were ready to establish a police station alongside other social amenities like schools, hospitals, marketsand tertiary institutions.
KCB Head of Special Assets Functions Oscar Oguna said they intended to conclude both registration and validation processes in six weeks’ time.
“We are here today to commence the regularization process for the EAPCC land to try and give opportunity to the current occupants of this parcel to acquire the same. This was a sensitization exercise intended to make residents understand the processes that they will be going to facilitate the process of this property’s acquisition,” Oguna said.
Oguna said their intention as a bank was to allow locals own the regularization process.
“It’s a journey that we will go through. We will hold more engagements with locals to keep them abreast of what’s happening as we go along,” he said.
EAPCC had earlier handed over the land to KCB so that it dispose of it as compensation to a debt it owes the financial institution.
“We will go through the process of validation of data that we collect from the locals. Once that process is complete, then we will go through the planning and survey phase, which will run concurrently, where we will be working with various relevant state agencies and the County Government of Machakos for proper planning of this particular place. We will then allow for valuations that will allow us to complete the sale process,” Oguna said.
Oguna said they were yet to set prices for the said property.
“We don’t have prices for the portions; it will be determined based on the valuation exercise and zones that several properties fall under. Different land parcels will go for different prices. For instance, land that is commercial and will attract different prices compared to residential land,” he said.
He said priority will be given to local residents.
“We aren’t opening transactions to new buyers. We are trying to regularize ownership for people residing here,” Oguna said.