Hundreds of farmers from Kisumu NdogoVillage in Mavoko location, Machakos County demonstrated on Saturday against a private developer who is fencing the 2.25 acres of land that is under crops and trees they claim belongs to them.
The farmers who included men, women and youth claimed the foreign investor was erecting the perimeter wall on the piece land with intent of denying them access to their farms, destroying their crops and eventually evicting them un-lawfully.
The demonstration came just a day after three of their colleagues, one of whom claimed ownership of the disputed land were allegedly arrested on Jamhuri Day by officers from Athi River Police station and later released without charges.
Benjamin Mutinda, Isaiah Muia and Alphonce Mutuku who claimed he inherited the land from his late step sister in 1972 were nabbed by the police while attending to their crops on the farm for un-known reasons.
According to the aggrieved farmers through their spokesperson, Josephine Wambua (64) who addressed press at the scene, Mutuku had allowed them to use the land they had been earning their livelihoods from for the last 17 years under certain private agreements.
Wambui said they had nothing else to depend on apart from the farm produce hence demanded for compensation by the foreign investor before their intended eviction.
“We are already affected since the Chinese is putting up a perimeter fence on the entire land that holds our crops and trees hence restricting our access,” said Wambua.
The farmers said they had never been served with any notices to vacate the land and therefore wondered why they were being provoked by the investor in question whom they claimed had ever seen, apart from some Chinese from Sichuan Yungzhi Construction Company Limited who were busy constructing the fence.
“We have never seen him apart from the Chinese contractors who have been so hostile to us but fully protected by police,” said Wambua.
The farmers called on the government’s intervention to ensure they were fully compensated by the investor and avoid crisis before their crops and trees were destroyed.
According to crop and trees valuation reports in their possession from the Ministry of Agriculture and National Environment Authority (NEMA) both dated 25/11/2014, crops on the land are valued at Sh598,000 while trees Sh819,550.