CThe Vipingo Sisal farm in Kilifi County was besieged by hundreds of young people armed with machetes.
In the early hours of Good Friday, they annexed a portion of the land and began building houses there.
The commander of police in Kilifi South, George Madoli, reported that hundreds of young people attacked a sisal plantation on the Mombasa-Malindi Highway. They claimed it as their ancestral home.
According to him, the invaders possessed duplicates of title documents proving that their progenitors owned the property leased by Vipingo Sisal Estate. They asserted the lease had expired.
In a phone conversation, Mr Mrima Wanyepe, who identified himself as the region’s chairman of the landless, stated that the distribution of the 800-acre parcel of land at issue had been scheduled for the beginning of the year.
After the tenure on the Vipingo Sisal Estate expired and his family petitioned for the property to be returned to them. The Ministry of Lands divided the property into 800 acres and granted them to his family.
A copy of the document indicates that the certificate of title deed was issued on December 13, 2017, as indicated. However, the Standard was unable to independently confirm the document’s authenticity.
However, Wanyepe stated that the Kilifi county administration was required to assist the squatters with the adjudication and division of the 800 acres. Nonetheless, “it has delayed the exercise,” he said.
The police stated yesterday that they were unable to confirm the legitimacy of the title documents presented by the squatters and the investor.
Vipingo’s youths have taken possession of the sisal plantations. After agreeing to meet later to discuss and hopefully resolve the situation amicably, the security team has expressed interest in employing attorneys to represent both parties.
According to Mr. Madoli, the disputing parties convened at the office of the County Commissioner of Kilifi on Tuesday, but were unable to concur on whether the investor or the residents are the property’s legal owners.
We met at the office of the County Commissioner. Wanyepe and the other Bambani members possess a mother title deed. However, it is possible that they do not know who else may claim ownership of the same property.
He estimated that up to 500,000 persons had squatted on land belonging to the Vipingo Sisal plantation for many years. Additionally, the residents are suing for access to an additional 3,900 acres of sisal crop.
In January, Judge Millicent Odeny declared invalid a title document held by the villagers for the 3,900-acre field. It dealt a setback to the squatters who claimed the land belonged to their ancestors.
According to Judge Odeny, a title possessed by the NSE-listed Vipingo Development Ltd. Supersedes the one acquired by the Bambani and Kikandale community in July 2020.
Residents petitioned the court to recognize them as the legal owners of the 3,911-acre parcel. Yesterday, Wanyepe announced their appeal of the case.
Joshua Kenga, one of the occupants, asserted that the sisal plantation is their rightful territory.
Thursday, President William Ruto stated that he will resolve the squatter problem on the Coast. He stated that the government had allocated Sh2 billion to purchase land from absentee landowners in order to house squatters.
