The construction of the Inland Container Depot (dry port) in Naivasha was on Monday, November 4, thrown into disarray after the squatters on the land disowned an earlier relocation agreement.
A report by The Standard showed that pastoral families squatting on the land demanded better compensation packages for the over 1000 acres of land that had been demarcated for the special economic zone.
The fresh demands came barely two weeks after President Uhuru Kenyatta launched the construction of the port at a cost of Ksh6.9 billion.
The group held a peaceful demonstration at Suswa and later addressed the media claiming that they would not vacate the land as the compensation issues were yet to be solved.
Simon Koilel, who led the demonstrations, claimed that the 4,000 acres allocated to them to relocate were not enough as the project would affect over 10,000 families.
"They land they claim to have allocated us is not enough given the population that resides on this land, we are demanding negotiation before we move out," Koilel emphatically stated.
The area community leader, Patrick Ole Kariasu, argued that the government ought to have spoken to them about the resettlement before planning to move them.
Ole Kariasu further revealed that they received a message from the Rift Valley coordinator George Natembeya asking them to move from the land.
The community leader assured that they would use any means necessary to protect the land they were currently occupying.
"We will go to court to stop the move by government until we are given our dues in line with the law," he added.
Esther Parisire, another resident, blamed other residents of the area for misleading them by claiming to have received land on their behalf.
