"Forget Machakos land"
-Wavinya
Governor Wavinya Ndeti today fired a warning shot to land grabbers and vowed no inch of Machakos soil will be taken away by fraudsters.
Addressing mourners at the burial of her late aunt, Annah Munee at Katelembo location of Machakos Town constituency, Wavinya decried the increasing appetite for land by grabbers, whom she accused of targeting prime areas within Machakos County.
In an apparent reference to a recent incident in which angry members of public stormed a 260-acre prime land near Kyumbi junction and pulled down a perimeter fence suspected to have been erected by grabbers, the governor said she will not negotiate with anyone plotting to steal public or community land anywhere in Machakos territory.
“Some people are claiming that the residents who staged drama on the Kyumbi land acted on their own volition. It is not the case. It is me who sent them with instructions that no one should be allowed to grab public or community land. My position is that no land belonging to the public or the community will be taken by an individual or entity,” Wavinya declared.
The governor pointed out that the rapidly increasing population of Machakos does not give any room for loss of any land resource to unscrupulous dealers.
Wavinya, who has just jetted back in the country from a week-long official visit to New York, United States, said she will spare no effort to fight off those salivating for Machakos land.
Earlier, her deputy Francis Mwangangi had accused cartels of colluding with rogue officials in the Ministry of Lands to manufacture fake title deeds in Nairobi, which he warned will not be admitted in Machakos.
“There is rampant theft of public land in Machakos County. While the governor was away, members of the public evicted suspected grabbers from one of the prime lands and handed it over to the county government. We are telling land grabbers to keep off Machakos,” said Mwangangi.
Even then the land in question remains exposed to grabbers and fuel wood merchants. Villagers have pounced on the property to cut down trees under the watch of local authorities.
Besides, part of the land's perimeter wall was pulled down and building stones carried away as authorities watched.
Observers believe that the previously protected private land is well positioned for grabbing by government functionaries.
