Portland surrenders land to Athi River squatters at a fee

DISPUTE:  East Africa Portland Cement Company (EAPCC) has started a sale process that will enable squatters occupying its Athi-River land to be legally settled on the Mavoko sub- county land after protracted wrangles and court cases.

 The cash-strapped cement manufacturer has kicked off the land sale and regularisation process of the three parcels LR 8784/144, LR8784/145 and LR 653 measuring 709 acres.

It has convened its first public participation exercise to spell out the sale process and land price which it stated is subject to review upon further review and negotiations.  The meeting held at Inter-County public grounds was attended by squatters, political leaders, Portland management and lawyers in an interactive session which entailed lengthy question and answer session.

A 40 by 80 parcel of land will sell at Sh600,000 upon payment of Sh100,000 administrative fee by the occupant. The Sh600,000 is payable in installment for a period of three years.  The process entails identification of a member through the recognised umbrella squatters organisations.

The squatter will write an application letter to Portland which will in turn liaise with their leadership and upon verification and approval one will pay the administrative fee which is subject to review.

After this, the member will sign a sale agreement and be issued with a beacon certificate which can be used as collateral in financial institutions. The payment schedule will be based on an individual sale agreement with Portland.

Legally settled

 The hundreds of squatters drawn from Kwa Mang’eli, Kasoito, Slaughter, Sofia and Kinanie slums have severally written letters to the cement maker to be legally settled in the land.  They settled in the land in 2010 after Portland announced its intention to sell the land after exhausting raw materials, a move that was later revoked through a gazette notice.

 “ We have recognised the squatters through its leadership under various umbrella groups. Be certain that we recognise your settlement here. Public participation is meant to have a transparent negotiation process. We want to ensure a smooth sale process. Our directive is not final and it will be an inclusive process,” said Gordon Mutugi, head of corporate affairs and strategy.

 Jubilant squatters lauded the move, saying it will end protracted wrangles, court cases and uncertainty that has affected them for the past one decade.