There are no more serial killings on the controversial East African Portland Cement Company’s land in Athi River town, says Athi River deputy county commissioner Albert Kimathi.
Speaking to this writer at his office in Athi River town on Monday, Kimathi said the state had deployed different security agencies to keep vigil on the land.
“The government has managed to end serial killings that were taking place on the disputed Portland land in Athi River town, there are no more reported deaths since we intervened into the matter two weeks ago,” said Kimathi.
Kimathi said security officers who included regular, administration and anti-riot police forcibly evicted people who had either settled or erected structures on the land and completely brought down all the buildings.
“We have completely cleared the land, they can never be any more killings if there are no people on the land,” said Kimathi.
He said his office took that direction since a diplomatic meeting with the wrangling groups to end the conflicts had been futile.
Kimathi said it was not easy to find a lasting solution to the killings without ejecting all the occupants of the land because some leaders of the groups claiming the land ownership were involved in hiring various outlawed sect groups to effect the killings.
He the area security team was aware the gang groups were hired from Kitengela, Kayole and parts of Machakos County.
“The situation was getting worse before our intervention, the gangs were more than Mungiki because they had been hired from various different outlawed sects including Mungiki themselves,” said Kimathi.
Kimathi said he was aware of the cartels behind the groups.
He said the land will remain condoned until unspecified period of time under police patrol and any civilian found there would be arrested and charged with trespass.
Kimathi said it was not his interest to know legitimate owners of the land since that is mandate of National Land Commission and Ministry of Land.
He said his concern was the wrangles among the groups that had gained entry on the land leading to the serial killings.
It is not clear how many lives were lost during the recent killings which were discretely conducted on the land.
Several people got hospitalized with deep cuts and arrow wounds on their bodies as a number of bodies retrieved from the disputed land.
Some of those killed during the incidences have been buried in their rural homes in different parts of the country.