Industry News

Outcry as Kajiado Landowners Battle Extortion Schemes

Locals want to recover land sold years ago to resell it at higher prices.

Updated on

May 11, 2020

Land is a great investment. — Land is a great investment because they don’t make it anymore. PHOTO/FILE

Landowners in Kajiado have expressed alarm over the rising number of locals seeking to repossess land sold to investors years ago to resell it at higher prices.

The behaviour, which is being propelled by land brokers eyeing the prime property for selfish gains, has prompted the Lands Ministry to classify Kajiado as a hotspot for land scams.

Some ex-owners are using unorthodox means, including offering to pay back money to the original buyers, to repossess the land that once belonged to them.

However, most of those seeking recovery do not have documents to support their claims.

In one of the cases, a family in Noosikitok village in Kajiado Central is seeking to repossess 100 acres sold to one Moses Narok in 2002. The siblings claim the land was sold too cheaply to pay medical bills for their ailing mother, who is now deceased.

“We must repossess the land by all means. Our mother sold it cheaply, and our attempt to reach out to the county land tribunal and Maasai community traditional land dispute resolution has yielded no fruit,” Sarah Tutu said in an interview.

Mediation with family

In his defence, Mr Narok maintains that he lawfully bought the land 18 years ago and has sought mediation with the family – to the extent of offering 40 acres of his land to the kinfolk to end the dispute, but that has not worked as the family wants to be given the entire ranch.

“I have been battling blackmail to let go of my land. The value of land continues to appreciate and the family wants to use unorthodox means to repossess the land,” he said.

According to Kajiado Lands executive Harmilton Persaina, the case was brought before the county, and sittings were held between the two parties, but the family declined the offer.

“It was decided that the landowner gives the family 30 acres on humanitarian grounds, but the family declined the offer demanding a bigger portion,” he said.

Similar cases have been reported across the county, mostly in Kajiado East, Kajiado Central, and Kajiado West, with landlords now urging the State to protect them from extortionists.