By Betty Luke
A family in Isiolo is calling on the government and human rights groups to help secure their 60-acre piece of land that has allegedly been grabbed by two senior Isiolo county officials.
The family says the land at Kambi Garba within Isiolo-Meru border was grabbed following the death of their kin (owner of the property) and that they could not access it as goons had been deployed to terrorize them.
According to Mariam Ali, a group of unknown individuals occupied her family’s piece of land in February last year, following the death of her husband Maalim Enow, claiming they were the rightful owners of the asset.
“We were surprised when we woke up to a group of men camping on the land where we’ve known as home for years. On asking, they said the land belonged to them and threatened us against making attempt to access the land,” recalls the 54-year-old widow.
The group is said to have left after a few days only to come back later with reinforcement.
“At first we thought they were joking but we realized it was a serious issue after they came with more men. We later established that the leaders of the groups were relatives to two senior county government officials,” she added.
Three people are said to have been injured in last week’s chaos that erupted after community members allegedly forcefully invaded the land with an aim of ejecting the illegal occupants.
Among those injured, is son to the late man who sustained bruises on his back and legs.
Village elder Saku Dabaso said the issue has raised tension in the area, expressing fears it could spark intercommunal clashes if no action was taken.
“This case has created enmity between the community that the victim hails from and the one that the those deployed on the farm belong to. We appeal for government intervention before this escalates into a serious conflict,”said Ms Dabaso.
She said it was sad for a family that knew the land as theirs since the 1980s to later lose it to individuals
“A poor family losing land to people we’ve put in office to protect our rights is an unfortunate incident,” she said noting that they had grown up together with the late and that the grabbed land was his.
The residents want those behind attack brought to book soonest to ensure justice is served to the victims.
“We appeal to the security apparatus to intervene and ensure those who physically assaulted our young men are apprehended. We live in a country where everyone is entitled to justice,” said Mr Tulu Roba.
The incident comes amid increasing incidents of land grabbing with rights activists attributing it to the upcoming mega projects which have seen the price of land appreciated in the past few years.
