Two Murang’a County residents, Ephantus Githae and James Mwangi, are seeking a court order for competitive bidding of the land leased to fruit processing company Del Monte in Murang’a County when the lease term comes up for renewal. The two want the National Land Commission and the county government compelled to place bids to attract prospective local and international investors.
The bids, according to residents, are aimed at getting investors who will show how the county would benefit if they were to get the leasehold.
Through their lawyer Omondi Samuel Ogutu, the petitioners are seeking a urgent hearing and determination so that the rule of law is upheld in leasing the land to suitable interested parties. They were apprehensive that the Murang’a County Government and the NLC will proceed to effect the extension of the leases to Del Monte in the absence of any public bidding which they said was contravention of the residents of Murang’a.
Del Monte still faces other woes in an ongoing case by locals from Kandara Sub-County, under the Kandara Residents Association. The locals are demanding from the company 6,000 acres of land, which they claim was grabbed from their forefathers by white colonial settlers. An attempt by the parties to settle the dispute out of court, through mediation by the National Land Commission, flopped last week as Del Monte lawyers failed to show up.
The fruit company is also facing another law suit in Nairobi filed by the Murang’a County government. In the case, the county is demanding that the company cedes 3,000 acres for an industrial city at Kabati.
[Article source: The Business Daily, by Ndung’u Gachane]
