KEMRI Gets New Land Title

The long standoff between the Kirinyaga County Government, the County Assembly and elected leadership over the stalled Sh 15 billion KEMRI Centre in Mwea, has ended after the government issued a new tittle deed to the Institution.
This was after the national government issued a new tittle deed on April 16, to the KEMRI and bearing the Institution’s name.
Yesterday three local Legislators displayed to the media a copy of the document at the site and hailed the government’s move to issue the tittle deed to KEMRI.
Initially the former county administration had in 2015 issued a Land Lease to KEMRI which was later canceled by the current administration and registered the land under its name.
The county administration had stood its ground not to hand over the 100 acre land to KEMRI unless the Institute agreed to hive off 30 acres.
The administration also wanted an MOU put in place between it and the Institution before it could surrender the document.
On learning the county administration was derailing the mega project, area Legislators led by their Mwea colleague Kabinga Wachira started making demands that Governor Anne Waiguru release the tittle deed unconditionally.
Area MCAs also joined in the chorus but in vain until a month ago when top national government official visited the land site and found out that already Sh 53 million had been spent on the construction of a perimeter wall.
Led by the Interior Principal Secretary Karanja Kibicho the officials wondered why the county government was deliberately delaying the project over un-necessary demands.
A fuming Kibicho at the time said as professionals who understood the importance and significance of a research center could not allow certain individuals to foolishly derail the project.
He asked his land’s counterpart Dr Joseph Muraguri who was among a battery of other colleagues to ensure a new tittle deed was issued in place of the one with the county government had refused to hand over to KEMRI.
Yesterday Wachira, Gichugu Gichimu Githinji and his Kirinyaga Central colleague Munene Wambugu while visiting the stalled project assured area residents everything was now on course and the contractor would be back to the site soonest.
T he project will comprise of a Research Centre, a University and a Level six hospital which would be of benefit not only to the area residents but even though within the surrounding mt Kenya region.
“Had this stalled project been completed we would be the first county to produce the much required face masks as well at the forefront carrying out research on the Covid – 19 but how foolish and selfish some leaders have been over this crucial Institute, Wachira said.
Both Githinji and Wambugu told off any one out two frustrate the project since it belonged to the very people who placed elected leaders to their positions and once completed the same were meant to benefit from it.
Wachira added that bush clearing on the vast land on which the permanent perimeter wall stands was set to start in earnest.
By Irungu Mwangi