The Parliamentary Lands Committee has recommended that a disputed piece of land at the boundary of Machakos and Kajiado counties be given to the Maasai Community.
The 10,000-acre piece of land called the ‘Sheep and Goat land’ by locals was used by the then Ministry of Livestock and Fisheries for holding and multiplication of sheep and goats before being taken to Athi River's Kenya Meat Commission for slaughter.
Led by the committee's chairman, Alex Muiru, the team of legislatures held a meeting at Athi River on Wednesday with leaders and members from the two communities living in the area after touring and locating its boundaries.
The committee members heard views from various community leaders for close to three hours before agreeing that the government should give back the land to members of the Maasai community saying it originally belonged to them.
"The committee is convinced that the land belongs to the Maasai community depending on evidence provided by various stakeholders and members of the public," said Muiru.
The chairman argued that since the land was not used as planned, the state should return it to the community which he said needed their property back.
“The community had given their land to the government for the goat and sheep project. But now there are neither sheep nor goats. They should havetheir land back," said Muiru.
Muiru said individuals who had been allocated part of the land unscrupulously would lose ownership once it given back to the community.
"Those thinking they have title deeds here but are not natives should know that they own nothing,” he warned.
This comes a few weeks after Mavoko MP, Patrick Makau, petitioned in parliament to return the land LR NO10029/2 to the community calling it injustice to the people in the area.
“I petitioned parliament to revert the land back to the community in good faith. Let the land be returned to Maasai community given that the project had failed and they need it," said Makau.
Kajiado Senator, Peter Mositet and Governor David Nkedianye were both in attendance and lauded Mavoko MP for fighting for the rights of Maasai community.
The committee also called on the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission to intervene in a bid of solving boundary wrangles between kamba and maasai communities in the region.