The office of Director of Criminal Investigation (DCI) has directed Nyandarua CID boss to investigate a complaint by an elderly man that his land was illegally allocated by the County land officers.
In a letter dated March 1, 2019, DCI George Kinoti directed County Criminal Investigation boss to probe claims by Njoroge Nguiyai that five of his 21 hectares at the Kahuru settlement scheme in Kinangop of Nyandarua County were curved out and allocated to three other people under the neighbouring Muruaki settlement scheme.
Nguyai is accusing officers at the Nyandarua lands office of being behind the allocation of the land and subsequent issuance of title deeds.
He wrote to Kinoti’s office after the Nyahururu based lands officers failed to comply with a directive by the National Lands Commission (NLC) that titles issued for the illegally allocated land be cancelled. Instead the officers initiated hearings for the dispute all over again.
A letter by vice chair of NLC Abigael Mbagaya to the Chief Land Registrar in the Ministry of Lands dated February 16 last year said despite the illegal boundary change and issuance of new titles, Mzee Njoroge still held the original title deed, indicating his land as measuring 21 hectares.
“The Commission (NLC) recommends that Chief Land Registrar reinstates the original position of Nyandarua/Kahuru/180 of 21 Ha as reflected on the original title and recall two titles, Nyandarua/Muruaki/1273 and Nyandarua/Muruaki/1274 that were curved out from Nyandarua/Kahuru/180,” the outgoing NLC vice chair wrote.
Mbagaya said tension was rising in the settlement schemes since there were other encroachment on other people’s land through illegal alteration of boundaries by the land officers.
It was after the NLC directive failed to be complied with by the Nyandarua Land officers that the old man wrote to the DCI last December for assistance.
“My prayer is that you investigate the Nyandarua Lands office where I suspect the Land Registrar and Land Surveyor were involved in stealing my land,” the old man claimed in the letter to Kinoti.
By Jesse Mwitwa and Charles Njoroge
