8.7-acre land given back to school

A private developer in Maralal Town of Samburu County has lost the fight in a dispute over the ownership of an 8.7-acre piece of land to Lmutaro primary school.
This development happened after officials from National Land Commission (NLC) and the county department of land jointly surveyed the disputed land and ruled in favour of the school.
County Executive Committee (CEC) Member in charge of lands in the county Benedict Lentumunai said a team of surveyors from Nairobi and Samburu has responded to an outcry to solve the land dispute after a section of the community and Lmutaro school board of management sought the assistance of leaders and the lands office to stop private developers who had encroached into the school’s land.
“We have recovered and given the 8.7 acres back to the school from a section of community members who had started to fence it off,” he said.
Mr. Lentumunai said the county government is working with national government to safeguard public utility land that had been set aside for schools and hospitals among other social amenities.
It later emerged that an individual who claimed to be the owner of the school land does not have any official document to prove that he owns the land.
“This area is government land under municipality and as a government we have not planned for it, people have been illegally selling off parcels to other people without permission,” he said.
NLC’s county coordinator John Lolegitekoi said a plan would be prepared and forwarded to Nairobi for processing of a title deed for the school.
The chairman however said the community will protect the school’s land from private developers who are hankering to grab it.
By Robert Githu