Economist and National Super Alliance (NASA) strategist David Ndii has alleged that land grabbing by members of President Uhuru Kenyatta's family is behind the recent evictions of people living on farms in Taita Taveta County.
In a conversation with Kenyans.co.ke on Tuesday, Ndii revealed that those kicked out of the land in recent weeks were being told that their eviction was necessary to allow for road construction and implementation of other projects backed by investors.
He further explained that those who lived on the 2,000-acre piece of land, known as Sir Ransom, conducted an official search at the lands office in 1995 and found that it was considered trust land with no registered owner, and they began the process of being allocated the land as they had lived there all their lives.
However, in 1998, they found that the land had been allocated to former first lady Mama Ngina Kenyatta and former Taveta MP Basil Criticos on a 999 year lease from the government, backdated to 1974. After years of wrangling, a case was filed in court by the squatters in 2016.
Ndii's revelations came as local residents and investors clashed on Friday over the fencing off of a water source in Taita-Taveta that sits on a 1,000-acre piece of land previously owned by Criticos.
[caption caption="NASA strategist David Ndii"]
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Foreign investors who had acquired the land explained that they wanted to implement an agriculture mega-project, noting that the water source was on private land.
Local residents, however, accused the investors of blocking them from a water source they depended on by putting up an electric fence around the farm.
Village elder Shapashina Modukenya stated: “The investors have put up an electric fence around the vast farm. They have fenced off the only water source for Mata Ward residents.”
Ndii claimed that many of the investors were powerful individuals with political links.
"After it was grabbed, some land was allocated to some people to avoid scrutiny. Now, the names I am hearing are of very powerful individuals," noted Ndii in an exclusive conversation with Kenyans.co.ke.
[caption caption="Documents shared by Ndii in relation to the Sir Ransom land saga"]
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