Kapsaret Member of Parliament Oscar Sudi has been accused of defying court orders to help Emily Keter, a lady who professed to have been a former classmate of President William Ruto, repossess a 20-acre piece of land.
On Wednesday, January 17, in the morning, a group of youth led by the Kapsaret MP demolished structures built on the contentious piece of land to pave way of Emily’s takeover.
This came despite a claim by a man named Paul Kirwa, one of the parties embroiled in the ownership tussle, stating that he had secured a court order affirming that he was the rightful owner.
In a statement, Oscar Sudi said that he took it upon himself to lead the demolition exercise after Emily Keter complained to the President during a function in Uasin Gishu.
He went on to affirm that Emily was the owner of the land and that it had been fraudulently registered to three other persons including Paul Kirwa.
In a statement, Sudi vowed to deal with grabbers decisively restating the now prevalent agenda of judges conniving with corrupt individuals to influence court outcomes.
“Following her complaint to H.E President William Samoei Ruto I presided over recovery of 20 acres of land from land grabbers,” Sudi said.
“I will personally deal with Land grabbers decisively. Some of them are conniving with judicial officers especially in Eldoret Town courts. Their time is up.”
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Landowner speaks after evictions
But on his part, Paul Kirwa maintained that he had presented the authentic documents proving his ownership of the land.
He referred to two previous rulings where a Magistrate Court affirmed that Kirwa and his companions were the genuine owners of the land in 2022, a decision that was later confirmed by the High Court after an appeal.
“We have presented our title deed and the receipts at court, but they have not presented their papers,” Kirwa said while speaking to the media after the raid.
After the demolitions, Kirwa was left counting losses noting that there were cows, chicken and other valuables which were domiciled in the farm.
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When Ruto gave Oscar Sudi an assignment
On January 9, 2024, President Ruto visited his former school in Kamagut for the launch of a refurbishment sponsored by the Safaricom Foundation and M-Pesa.
At the time, Ruto also met his former classmates, among them Emily Keter- the lady claiming ownership of the land.
In a video shared from the school in Kamagut, Emily was seen in a brief conversation with the President and MP Sudi as the First Lady Rachel Ruto and the rest of the classmates looked on.
Speaking on Wednesday, January 17, Emily confirmed that she mentioned the land issue to the President, who promised to intervene.