Fresh Election Ordered After Petitioners Pleaded with Uhuru

A fresh election has been ordered for a land buying company in Naivasha following a 20-year long court battle over 2,323 acres of land.

Members of the Nanga-Kihoto Land Buying Company found reprieve after the courts granted their plight to elect a new board of directors.

In December, the petitioners had written to President Uhuru Kenyatta asking him to intervene and block any attempts to remove the land from their custody.

The petitioners, most of whom are in their 80s, shed tears of joy as Justice Roselyn Korir ruled to have the fresh poll on February 2.

[caption caption="Justice Roselyn Korir"][/caption]

Justice Korir appointed one Robert Ndung'u from Nairobi to preside over the election that will be held at the Gatanga Catholic Social Hall in Murang’a County, where most of the members reside.

"The general meeting report should be filed in court by the presiding officer within seven days of the elections. The company's accounts remain frozen," the Judge directed.

Members welcomed the ruling noting that justice had been delayed for most of their members who may not enjoy the benefits.

"The land was bought in the early '80s and some of the elderly members have died waiting for justice," the outgoing Chairman, Mr Samuel Monyo, stated.

During 2017 campaigns, President Kenyatta issued close to three million title deeds in his first term to various landowners in the country, a move that would later be termed unprocedural.

"We said we had a solution to the land problem and promised to deliver three million titles so that Kenyans get title deeds to effectively use their land to improve their lives," President Kenyatta stated.

High Court Judge Joseph Onguto in 2016 ruled that all title deeds issued without the involvement of the National Land Commission (NLC) and enactment of requisite regulations by Parliament were irregularly processed and therefore, illegal.

[caption caption="File image of President Uhuru Kenyatta issuing title deeds in Murang'a county"][/caption]

  • . .