Defence Cabinet Secretary (CS) Aden Duale has brokered a deal to end a 48-year land row between the Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) and residents of Uasin Gishu.
Speaking to the resident of Eldoret on Friday, March 28, Duale indicated that land cartels had for a long term hindered negotiations and resolutions between the government and the residents.
However, he said that the matter had been resolved noting that locals will be issued with title deeds in three to four months after the land is subdivided.
The land in question is a 5,000 acres military land in Kiplombe and Chebarus near the Recruits Training School in Eldoret.
“This is your land; we will call a surveyor here to divide it so that after three or four months we can issue you with title deeds.
“We have a good relationship between the people of Kiplombe farm and KDF. We have been looking at where we have disputes with people living close to the military barracks, Meru, Isiolo, and many other areas,” said Duale.
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Four Residents Recently Murdered at the KDF Ngano Farm
Hostilities between the military and locals living adjacent to the KDF farm has escalated over the years with the recent incident occurring in November 2023, when the bodies of four men were recovered from the farm.
According to police reports, KDF officers attacked the four individuals occurred at night after they sneaked into the disputed farm. It was noted that the maize had already been harvested and the four may have been there to collect leftovers.
Allegedly, the officers cornered and beat the four leaving them for dead.
However, before that incident, on Christmas Day in 2021, three people were shot dead near Chebarus Primary School during an alleged confrontation with KDF soldiers.
Locals said the deceased and the injured men had gone to the KDF farm to collect remains of maize after the force harvested its crop.
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Residents Appeal to Duale Over the Conflict
After the 2023 incident, residents of Kamagut blocked police officers from collecting the two bodies from the scene out of anger demanding that action be taken against the KDF officers.
According to them, the officers get away with attacks and injustice while they continued to die and suffer at their hands. Also, they pleaded with the Defence CS to bring the violence to an end adding that they were losing many of their men.
Officers from the Kenya Defence Forces were yet to issue an official statement on the matter by the time this article was written.
