Landowners cry foul as cartels pocket billions
A combination of cultural practices, ignorance and corruption is leaving landowners in Murang’a County dispossessed of their property.
For the past 20 years, Murang’a economy has been losing billions in fraudulent property deals — the worst-hit being widows, illiterate residents and greedy property sellers out to pocket a quick buck.
The cartel behind the losses comprises government officers and crooks, who include politicians, lawyers and brokers.
In his Mashujaa Day speech in Kirinyaga County, President Kenyatta said “most of the fraudulent land deals that we have been experiencing in this country have been deliberate acts to safeguard corruption”.
As a result, many families have been dispossessed of their property, vulnerable property owners murdered so that ownership can be altered and others going through the tedious and costly court cases.
These revelations came out of the ongoing multi-agency brainstorming on how to reverse the mess and tame cartels so as to give the property market in the county some sanity.
The meetings are being held in Kandara, Kangema and Murang’a East, three of Murang’a’s nine sub-counties.
Land grabbing
Governor Mwangi wa Iria said the loss in billions occurs when families spend resources in court cases, lost credit opportunities, unused properties and outright direct loss when the criminals dispossess residents.
The stakeholders’ forum brought together the Office of the President, the county government and the Law Society of Kenya, with Mt Kenya University offering logistical support.
In Kandara, area residents poured their hearts out on the hell they went through battling schemes to dispossess them.
“I sold 20 acres to a Murang’a female politician in Samar, Maragua. She paid a 50 per cent down payment but for the next two years, she would not pay the rest. The total she was supposed to pay me was Sh33 million. She paid Sh17 million,” Mr James Irungu, 65, said.
The politician only responded when he threatened to call a press conference and declare her a thief and give details of the failed deal.
Another landowner from Kiria-ini in Mathioya sub-county submitted that a senior politician, in an attempt to grab his prime land to build a hotel, raided it with government tractors.
“The politician was taking over my land by force...He just raided my farm and started developing it,” the landowner said.
Criminal network
“I brought in my tractors and destroyed the trenches he had established as demarcation beacons. We are in court today and he has threatened to show me who calls the shots in the area.”
It emerged that the area land registry is full of cartels that make a killing from taking advantage of the robust property market.
“Law firms that deal with land matters should have their staff clearly identified to distinguish them from freelancers. We should not have idlers around the registry,” said Mr James Waruinu, an investor.
“The allegations that officers from Nairobi have been dispatched to come and give the criminal network some officialdom should also be investigated.”
Many residents submitted to the forum that they went to land boards that have the Office of the President as the superintending authority.
“After we register the deals and have them approved by the boards, some assistant county commissioners and deputy county commissioners refuse to sign and submit the consents to the new owners. They use the consents as cash cows, where they demand 20 per cent of the total worth of the transactions,” Mr Eliud Mbugua said.
Mr John Irungu from Kamuiru village in Murang’a South told the forum that the Kenya Rural Roads Authority, on the orders of the area MP and administrators, cut a road through their public land and only got a reprieve when the Nation highlighted the case that caught the attention of the President, who ordered the injustice reversed.
Many residents complained that they had visited the Murang’a and Nairobi registries so as to get information about their land but encountered hurdles strategically placed by cartels.
Corrupt the process
Mr Stephen Mwaniki from Kihiu Mwiri in Gatanga disclosed that government officials and crooks had teamed up with senior politicians in the county to steal land.
Murang’a Deputy County Commissioner Mawira Mungania said land issues are emotive. “Yes, we have been accused of withholding consent forms… Sometimes we do this as we investigate the authenticity of the deals,” he said.
Governor Wa Iria said he will establish an alternative dispute resolution programme in the property sector to respond to the needs of the vulnerable.
“With the help of the legal fraternity and the Judiciary, we can be up and running by December,” he said.
Murang’a County Commissioner Fred Ndunga said ignorance has subjected many families to years of agony in land deals. He blamed chiefs for complicity.
“Chiefs are employed in their home areas to help them solve issues facing families that they have grown up with and are familiar with. When a chief deliberately alters succession authorities to corrupt the process of inheritance, it is not only criminal but also immoral,” he said.
“I’ve told them to ensure they right the mess they have ignited in their areas of jurisdiction,” the administrator said. BY DAILY NATION

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