NLC revisits Ontulili Mount Kenya Squatters vs Angaine family case

The National Land Commission (NLC) has revisited Ontulili Mount Kenya Squatters versus Angaine family case and involved interested parties targeting to expedite a ruling by July this year.

The squatters appealed to the NLC, claiming they were the rightful owners of the land located in Timau, Meru County, since the late President Jomo Kenyatta allocated them in 1975, but the late Lands Minister Jackson Angaine excised them.

Speaking to the media at Nanyuki town, Prof. James Tuitoek, the chairperson of the committee on historical land injustices, said they had not concluded on the hearing because they needed more time to determine the main issues in the case.

“We have been here for two days. Yesterday (Tuesday) was the hearing of a matter referred to us by the court on claims on some land in Timau. We have only listened to two witnesses and we realize we require more time to conclude the hearing,” said Tuitoek.

Tuitoek said that on the second day of the public hearing, they made a site visit on the particular land to get an appreciation of the type of land they were looking into.

“According to the law, historical land injustices are to be received, admitted, investigated and determined,” said Tuitoek, adding that the commission has checklists for admitting historical land injustices, and in one of those checklists entails whether the colonial government was involved between the years 1895 and 2010.

Esther Murugi, a Commissioner with the NLC, said for the second time that the commission was looking into the case; they wanted to involve all the interested parties.

“This is the second time that the commission is handling this claim. We are here because some of the interested parties did not show up in the determination so when the matter went to the court we were told to listen to everybody,” said Murugi.

David Bundi, a businessperson from Timau, Meru County and victim of the eviction, narrated how they were forcefully evicted from their homes that were later demolished.

“I was only 13 years old when we were evicted from the land by the police. Our homes were torched down and we watched in disbelief. We could not save anything and we now live in shanties in Timau and Nanyuki,” said Bundi.

In a Kenya Gazette notice dated March 1 2019, NLC ruled that the squatters were the rightful owners of the land.

“The commission noted that the land in question was excised from the forest to benefit the squatters. The commission recommends that the chief land registrar reverts the land to the claimants,” NLC said.

“Alternatively, the family of the late Angaine should give the claimants alternative land of equal size and value. The chief land registrar registers the land in the name of the squatters and they should be settled with the assistance of the director of land adjudication and the director of surveys,” it added.

The Angaine family challenged the ruling with the argument that they were not involved in the hearings before a conclusion was reached.

The NLC confirmed that it has received 3,663 land injustices claims since 2017, having asked members of the public to file any cases of historical land injustices by September 21, 2021.