Rumuruti Villagers Vow to Resist Eviction from 2,192-Acre Disputed Land
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Residents of Kisiriri village in Rumuruti, Laikipia County, say they will not vacate a 2,192-acre parcel they have occupied for generations, alleging that an investor is behind efforts to evict them.
Residents of Kisiriri village in Rumuruti, Laikipia County, have vowed not to vacate their settlement, claiming someone is seeking to evict them so that an investor can take over the 2,192-acre land.
The residents say they have lived on the land for generations and maintain that they are farmers rather than pastoralists, as they say they have often been portrayed. Resident Antony Lolonyokie said he has lived in the area for 45 years and raised his children there. “We are being pushed because they want to take our land,” he said, adding that the original owner of the land died in 1957 and their parents were subsequently allowed to settle and farm on it.
The residents said the disputed property is registered as LR No. 24/26, measuring about 2,192 acres, and that the matter is the subject of an ongoing court case, including proceedings at the Court of Appeal in Nyeri. Village leader Wilson Leshau said about 3,000 villagers were affected by the dispute and that the community lodged a complaint in court on 28 April 2018 but was yet to receive a resolution.
Elizabeth Lengethe said tension escalated after a local administrator allegedly issued a notice requiring residents to vacate the land, and claimed police officers had been deployed to the area even though residents said they had not personally received the notice. Moses Lengerde said five police vehicles were brought to the area during an attempted eviction, but residents refused to leave. The residents' allegations could not be independently verified.
The villagers questioned the authenticity of what they described as an agreement by some locals to surrender the land to the investor, saying they had not consented to any transfer. They have called on President William Ruto and Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen to intervene, and for the transfer of the local administrator whom they accuse of supporting the eviction.
The dispute comes against the backdrop of an agricultural landscape in the wider Rumuruti area, where farms and greenhouses, including flower-growing operations, have transformed large tracts of land into commercial agricultural enterprises. The residents have urged the authorities to resolve the dispute through the courts and dialogue rather than force, saying any eviction would affect families who depend on the land for their livelihoods.