[Source: The Standard, by Renson Mnyamwezi]
The process of settling thousands of squatters living on the disputed Teita Sisal Estate in Taita Taveta County has started.
Surveyors have been deployed to excise the disputed land in the vast farm on the outskirts of Mwatate town to settle more than 3,000 squatters.
This is after the national and county governments funded the survey and demarcation at Singila and Majengo villages to the tune of Sh1.2 million.
The farm management has set aside 250 acres to settle the squatters in the two villages.
Governor Granton Samboja confirmed yesterday that the surveyors have 90 days to complete the exercise, to pave way for settling the squatters who have been living on the disputed land for years.
The meeting was attended by leaders from the two villages.
Samboja told the meeting that Teita Sisal Estate had earlier agreed to cede part of its land to settle the landless.
He told the meeting that it had not been easy carrying out survey in the farm due to intimidation by cartels opposed to the settlement of the landless.
Land and Mining Executive Mwandawiro Mghanga told the residents to exercise caution so as not to fall prey to land cartels that have been collecting money under the pretext of settling the landless.
The land has been at the centre of a conflict between the squatters and the farm’s management, with each side claiming ownership and accusing the other of encroachment.
Following the resolution, the squatters will be settled on a 250 acre-plot set aside by the farm management.
A survey conducted two years ago showed that the squatters had encroached on the 32,000-acre private farm, regarded as the largest in East and Central Africa.
Last year, during an inspection tour of the farm, Lands Chief Administrative Secretary Gideon Mung’aro disclosed that the national government had reached an agreement with the management to settle the squatters who had lived on the land for many years.
In an earlier interview, the farm’s Managing Director Phillip Kyriaz confirmed that they were working with the government to find a lasting-solution to the squatter menace.
[Full article: The Standard, by Renson Mnyamwezi]
