The National Land Commission (NLC) will reclaim land belonging to a secondary school in Nakuru allegedly grabbed by a private developer.
NLC toured Rhino Secondary School in Mwariki B area on Saturday to assess the extent of the grabbing and vowed that all land belonging to public schools in the county will be recovered to ensure smooth learning in the institutions.
County lands board secretary Frank Ole Kiplekenye who was accompanied by surveyors confirmed that the 5.5 acre parcel of land belongs to the institution.
“I call upon any individual with documents to the contrary to come out and present them to the commission for further scrutiny. We are to place beacons to safeguard the school property,” said Kiplekenye.
Kiplekenye’s team also asked all public schools in the county with cases of land grabbing to inform the commission and institute a review. He reiterated President Uhuru Kenyatta’s directive that all schools submit their details to fast-track title deed issuance to secure their lands from grabbers.
A private developer, Rose Wambui Kariuki, had issued the school started in 2012 and with a capacity of more than 200 students, with a notice of 21 days to vacate the land or face eviction.
Through the law firm of Rubua Ngure and Company Advocates, the businesswomaan claimed that she was the registered proprietor of the parcel of land and threatened to flatten the institution’s buildings once the notice expired.
The school’s board chairman Edward Munge told this writer that the school land was safe and assured parents and students that learning will not be interrupted.
“We visited the lands office after we learnt through a notice that a private developer was claiming the parcel of land. The commission has acted and learning will not be interrupted in the school,” said Munge.
According to the school’s administration, the parcel of land where the school stands was set aside for use by the neighbouring St. Joseph’s Catholic Church which covers two acres and the school. A search of the land provided by the land registry seen by this writer indicates that the parcel of land where the church and school stand is a public utility.