The Kiambu Historical Land Injustice Association has called on the National Lands Commission (NLC) to expedite the restitution process of their land case and rectify the historical injustice perpetrated against various clans in the area.
The Chairman of the Association, Wilfred Karanja, said members of the association are disappointed at the prolonged delay in resolving the land restitution case dating back to the British colonial era, yet NLC had promised them that the case would be resolved by March 2023 when they had a meeting at Utalii College in November 2022.
The chairman, who was speaking on Thursday at NLC headquarters offices, led almost 100 clan representatives to present a memorandum on the petition of land injustice to the National Lands Commission.
He said the community wants the Commission to fulfil its promise and provide a concrete solution to their long-standing grievance about the restitution and compensation of people affected by the injustice.
“As clan members, we want to see justice served and reclaim the lands that hold profound historical and cultural values for our communities,” he said.
The clans, who are descendants of those whose lands were forcefully taken by the British colonial government in 1895, recounted the harrowing accounts of their ancestors’ brutal treatment.
Karanja said the parcel of land that stretches about 2 to 3 miles on both sides of the Kenya-Uganda railway, from Fort Smith to Limuru, was seized, leaving native communities displaced and confined to patches of infertile soil labelled as ‘Native reserves’.
“Kiambu, a region deeply affected, saw at least 50 per cent to 75 per cent of its lands taken, pushing its inhabitants to less fertile areas,” he said.
The Chairman added, “Grazing lands were stripped away, forcing those with substantial herds of livestock to seek new pastures in the Rift Valley, only to find them already claimed by European settlers”.
Karanja further noted that the aftermath of the dispossession was devastating as it reduced families that were self-sufficient to poverty as their herds dwindled, while shift cultivation, a cornerstone of Kikuyu agricultural practices, was disrupted, leading to a sharp decline in grain and food production.
“Post-independence, the rightful owners awaited the return of their lands but were met with disappointment,” he said, adding that “government officials and their associates took advantage of their positions, wresting the lands from departing European settlers, even though leases had expired since 1920”.
By Hamdi Buthul
