[Source: The Standard, by Protus Onyango]
Schools opened for the new term three weeks ago, but 2,000 students at Victoria Primary School near Lake Victoria might soon have no place to learn.
The school’s land measuring 3.6 hectares has been taken over by powerful individuals.
Edward Omalla, the school’s head teacher, says the problem began in 2012 when part of the land was annexed, subdivided and given to some individuals leading to anxiety and uncertainty among pupils and their teachers.
“We are living in fear and do not know what to expect. Our school’s land is registered under numbers 644 and 647. But in 2012, some school management committee members colluded with land grabbers and sold 3.6 hectares. To date, this land has not reverted to us. It is a case that has been fought in court for eight years now,” said Omalla.
The school’s case is just one among many tales of insatiable appetite for land around Lake Victoria that has seen rich and powerful individuals hive off chunks of land around the lake to erect palatial homes and hotels.
Investigations by The Standard indicate that public land whose value is estimated at Sh1.654 billion has been grabbed.
The most affected is Block 7 on the shores of the lake that stretches from Kisumu International Airport, through Lwang’ni beach, Kenya Railways, State House, Impala Animal Sanctuary to the famous Dunga Beach, which is renowned for its fish and boat rides.
Here, 16 pieces of land have been hived off the original Block 7.
The Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) has been fighting to recover some of the grabbed land. This has seen some of it returned to the public. This includes Block 7/509 that was owned by a senior politician in the region.
In its ruling delivered on July 26, last year, High Court judge Justice Stephen Kibunja ruled that the lease given to the politician by the then Commissioner of Lands Sammy Mwaita was not protected under Article 40 of the Constitution. The case was filed by EACC.
The illegal acquisition of public land near the lake and growing human settlement has given rise to another environmental hazard. Africa’s largest fresh water body is no longer fresh. The once clean lake is now choking with pollution from industrial and agricultural waste.
[Full article: The Standard, by Protus Onyango]
