Over 1000 squatters in Nakuru county have petitioned the National Land Commission to speed up the process of their formal settlement. They raised concern that land speculators have allegedly invaded the 600 acre-Chepkisa/Tachasis settlement scheme in Njoro sub county with an intention of disposing them.
The land was annexed from Likia forest and was initially to benefit the squatters but some of them were relocated to Teret settlement scheme as others returned to lay claim of their previous allocation. However the government suspended their resettlement following a process of mapping out forest boundaries within Mau complex from settlement schemes that were annexed in 1997 to reduce illegal encroachment.
Speaking to this Hivisasa writer, Julius Sambu, the chairman of Koyumi Chepkisa self help group, successive members of provincial administration have remained partisan in resolving disputes affecting the land.
“We hope that the land commission will gazette this land because it does not fall under state forest," he said.
He went ahead and noted that the demarcation of the land in question was suspended to pave way for demarcation of water catchment areas and after the process was concluded, the proposed Chepkisa was not gazetted as part of forestland. Through their lawyer Kiplenge and Kurgat, they have threatened to sue the individuals trying to interfere with the ongoing resettlement procedure.