While Kiambu Governor Ferdinand Waititu was busy defending his English at funeral service in Gatundu South on Saturday, a fierce war against him was brewing in Lari subcounty.
A family in Kamae village, Lari subcounty, is planning to sue Kiambu Governor Ferdinand Waititu over 2.5ha (6.2 acres) they claim to own, but which the county says is public land.
Esther Wangui said neighbours informed her the land had been invaded by hundreds of youths on Saturday.
She does not live on the land. However on arrival at the scene, she found beacons had been erected and the land subdivided into plots.
“We heard from the youths that he (Waititu) is planning to resettle landless people because he is claiming it is public land,” Wangui said on Sunday.
Wangui claims the land belongs to her son Peter Ngigi, who bought the land and used it for farming.
Ngigi said his barbed wire fence, potatoes and a toilet were destroyed by the youths.
The family reported the matter at Kijabe police station and officers led by Lari OCS Waigwa Machomba and his Kijabe counterpart Samuel Sugut visited the farm.
Area OCPD Isaiah Odhiambo said the matter is being investigated.
Wangui said, “We want to know why the county government didn’t call us to inform to us that my son owns public land and why they entered and damaged a toilet, fence and some food crops without alerting us?”
“We shall go to court. We want the court to tell us who is the legal owner of this land. If it my son’s, they leave, but if it’s theirs, it will be well, we shall leave.”
A county official who sought anonymity said the land was grabbed and sold to unsuspecting buyers.
“This person claiming ownership is not the first buyer. He does not know the history of the land. It was a public land,” he said.