Machakos Deputy Governor Francis Mwangangi, on Wednesday, March 15, implored Cabinet Secretary for Lands Zacharia Mwangi Njeru to revert the lands registry to the county for easy management of issues in the area.
While addressing journalists at his office, Mwangangi lamented that some individuals had resorted to grabbing land on the section of the Nairobi- Mombasa Highway by invoking names of senior government officials.
Mwangangi narrated that the unscrupulous dealers had intimidated county officials while grabbing huge chunks of land along the busy highway.
Besides Nairobi-Mombasa Highway, Mwangangi singled out the Mavoko area, which he blamed for transferring land registry services.
"In Mavoko the land registry was transferred and 90 per cent of those that engineered the transfer are land grabbers," he stated.
"We are also asking the national government to collaborate with the county government to protect public land in the county," Mwangangi added.
At the same time, Mwangangi revealed Machakos County's plan to repossess grabbed land in Mavoko and Nairobi- Mombasa Highway.
He also promised to help the aggrieved individuals recover their land.
In the past operation, the county officials flushed out a private investor alleged to have grabbed 267 acres of public land in Kyumbi along the Nairobi-Mombasa highway.
"We will not entertain such people and we will make sure any grabbed land has been returned to its rightful owners," Mwangangi insisted.
Cases of land grabbing picked up as developers started rushing to Machakos County to establish their ventures. Affordable land, ready skilled labour, road connections and other social amenities contributed to the significant growth of the vast Machakos County.
To encourage investment, President William Ruto launched an affordable housing project in the Mavoko area.
