Muturi warns against plan to convert 301,330-acre Galana Kulalu project into real estate

Former Attorney General and Democratic Party leader Justin Muturi has raised the alarm over alleged plans to subdivide and convert part of the 301,330-acre Galana Kulalu agricultural project in Tana River into real-estate holdings, warning that the vast tract must remain a strategic national asset.

Muturi said the reported plans risk undermining the original purpose of the project, which was established to boost agricultural production, strengthen Kenya's food security and generate foreign-exchange earnings. He made the remarks on Sunday while touring Hola in Tana River County alongside Wiper leader Kalonzo Musyoka.

"The reported subdivision and conversion of land within the Galana Kulalu agricultural project in Tana River into real-estate interests must stop because this is a strategic national asset," Muturi said in a statement. "We will not allow a national agricultural dream to be quietly turned into a real-estate bonanza for a connected few in Nairobi. 301,330 acres cannot become somebody's private estate."

The former Attorney General claimed that surveying had already begun in the area without public participation, warning that the process could pave the way for the issuance of letters of allotment. He said the land should instead be dedicated to intensive irrigated agriculture, large-scale commercial farming, agro-processing, storage and export infrastructure.

Muturi's remarks come amid previous concerns over alleged encroachment and subdivision of Galana Kulalu land. In July 2025, Lands officials told the National Assembly's Committee on Implementation that the boundary of the Agricultural Development Corporation's Galana/Kulalu property had not been altered, and that no new survey had been presented to the Director of Surveys for approval.