Land worth Ksh 3 billion was on Thursday awarded to former politician Njenga Karume and Mugumo Nyakinyua Company Limited after fighting for it for 40 years with Gitamaiyu coffee pickers.
The battle ensued after a woman named Norah sold the land to both the coffee pickers and Njenga Karume. She, however, left for Malindi and passed away leaving the battle to the two warring parties.
Gitamaiyu Group explained how they bought the expansive 518 acres of land at Ksh 2 million in 1974 from Norah and signed a sale agreement on the land but, without a transfer since she failed to sign land consent forms.
The Group claimed that Njenga Karume had registered Mugo Nyakinyua as the owners of the land, but was actively his, and they pinned these allegations to his power and influence.
Wariara Njenga, the wife of the late Karume, was the chairperson of Nyakinyua Women Group.
The women group, however, had a title deed to show their ownership of the expansive land which was presented in court in 2016.
The judge ordered an appeal to be heard to determine who had a title deed and who lacked in order to solve the case.
On Friday, the case was thrown out by Court of Appeal Justices William Ouko, Asike-Makhandia and Gatembu Kairu who dismissed claims by 800 members of the Gitamaiyu Trading Company Ltd, declaring the Nyakinyua Women Group as the owners of the land.
