Squatters from Muirfarm in Masinga, Machakos County have expressed their disappointment with local leadership for failing to help them agitate for their rights.
They said there is no single elected leader in the region who has ever helped them fight to secure title deeds to their ancestral land on which they have squatted on for over 50 years.
Speaking at a thanksgiving prayers meeting in Kayole Market, Mananja location on Wednesday, Wendano Wa Murifarm Association’s chairman Stephen Vundi said the over 3,000 residents were living in fears for evictions by Agricultural Finance Corporation.
He said the 2,066 acres of land was under conflict between the community and the corporation after the latter held its title deed over unpaid bank loans.
“Murifarm was under custody of a white man until in early 1920’s when the community took it over and formed PRAM Company take care of it,” said Vundi.
The chairman said the residents largely used the land to grow coffee as cash crop before fully settling on most of its parts due to growing population.
He said one of the PRAM directors and manager at Agricultural Finance Corporation then, now deceased took four different loans amounting to Sh8.2 million and never serviced them.
Vundi said the deceased had surrendered the land’s title deed to the bank as security.
He said AFC Bank has since 2015 been demanding that the community pays back the loan that has accumulated to Sh484 million or they be evicted.
Vundi said the bank intends to sell the land at Sh1.1 million per acre once the locals were evicted to settle the loans.
“Not even a single squatter can afford that money because we are very poor, we plead with President Uhuru Kenyatta to intervene before we become homeless,” said Vundi.
Vundi said the squatters and several of their great-grandparents were born and raised in Murifarm.
He said they had lost confidence in their leaders because their personal interests outweigh those of the public, reason they sought to send CCU party leader Wavinya Ndeti to the President.
Wavinya received the petition and vowed to raise the matter with the president.
“As Ukambani leaders we cannot let those in power do whatever they want, we must serve the people to help them get their rights,” said Wavinya.
Wavinya said she will do everything possible to ensure Murifarm squatters are issued with land title deeds.
“Kenyatta is the Kenyan president, he has all the powers. The government paid Waitiki and locals issued with title deeds, the state should equally pay off AFC so that Murifarm squatters are given title deeds,” Wavinya said.