High court order on settlers near Mau forest will be implemented – PS Korir

Residents of five settlements in Nakuru county will have their land ownership rights restored as ordered by the High Court, a government official has said.

The Ministry of Lands and the Forestry Department will remark the border between their homes and the Mau Forest, said Lands and Physical Planning Principal Secretary Nixon Korir at Kapsinendet, Mariashoni ward.

That process will “commence immediately and this will then be followed by the issuing of titles to those who were not covered” initially, Korir said.

Residents allotted land in the settlements of Mariashoni, Sururu, Likia, Terit and Sigotik are known, he added, and the government will ensure non-residents do not interfere with the process.

“The surveying and titling process is fully funded by the State and we are warning those who might be tempted to extort money from residents,” he said.

In a judgment issued on September 30, Environment and Land Court Judge J.M. Mutungi ordered that residents whose land ownership rights were left in jeopardy for decades by an Executive decision issued bin 2019 (which contradicted a 2001 Legal Notice specifying the boundaries) should have their rights restored.

The settlements were established by the government at the time to settle landless people.

Justice Mutungi ruled that the residents had sufficiently proved that they were rightful owners and occupants of the pieces of land allocated to them after the Government excised land for the settlements in a legal process.

The judge said that Legal Notice No. 142 of 8 October, 2001, which was never revoked, should be implemented.

He directed the government to – within 12 months from the date of his judgment – establish and delineate the forest boundaries by installing physical and visible beacons.