On Wednesday, Nyeri lands court blocked retired President Daniel Moi’s lawyer from auctioning livestock owned by a group of 249 Samburu herders living in Laikipia.
Business Daily reported that the lawyer, Juma Kiplenge, had instructed Naisok Auctioneers to seize and sell the pastoralists’ assets, including cattle, in a bid to recover Ksh8.2 Million owed to him.
The herders, through their representative Richard Leiyagu, moved to court challenging the auction, saying the move would render them poor and marginalised further.
Leiyagu asserted that Naisok Auctioneers, through a proclamation and attachment letter, intended to put 1,300 heads of cattle, assorted household items, and motor vehicles under the judge's consideration.
Kiplenge’s lawyer, Wabandi Gacheru, told Justice Mary Oundo at the lands court that Moi’s lawyer had only learned about the herder’s application through a newspaper.
In her ruling, Justice Mary Oundo directed Moi’s lawyer to file a response within seven days as the matter would be mentioned on July 24.
The judge also ordered that the herders’ property should not be touched until the application is heard and determined.
The Ksh8.2 Million debt arose from costs of an eight-year-old suit involving a 17,105 acre land in Laikipia North to which the herders claimed ownership.
The 249 herders had sued retired president Moi for transferring the land they alleged was their ancestral land to the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS)
They eventually lost the case and were asked to pay Moi’s lawyers.
