Whose land is it really? Late Omamo’s, AGC or the people

Image result for odongo omamo

Battle over control of thousands of acres of land belonging to former Cabinet minister Odongo Omamo’s family has taken a new twist after police arrested 12 people for allegedly inciting squatters to invade the farm. Among the twelve suspects who were reportedly arrested in Tinderet sub-county, Nandi county, were two women accused of encouraging hundreds to cultivate part of the Nyarecho Farms Ltd in Nandi county.

The land in question is said to belong to former Moi-era Agriculture minister Odongo Omamo. The squatters wanted 2000 acres of the 5000-acre parcel and protested plan to set up solar plant on part of the land . They alleged Omamo’s family fraudulently acquired the land from the Agricultural Development Corporation in Tinderet .

Image result for kenyan squaters

More than 3000 squatters had cultivated about 500 acres of the now controversial farm, planted maize on it and were now planning to construct houses. According to the police, the squatters were protesting takeover of part of the farm by a French firm called Kopere Solar Power which wanted to put up a KSh 1.3 billion green energy generating project on a 20 year lease of 500 acres in the area. Through their spokesman Hillary Cheruyot, the claim the project was suspect and a deliberate move to deny them land for settlement in the area.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *