[Source: Business Daily, by Alex Njeru]
Kenya Forest Service (KFS) has said that it is not ready to surrender any piece of forest land to squatters as ordered by National Land Commission in a gazette notice dated March 1.
In a press statement undersigned by the Service Board Chairman, Peter Kinyua, KFS has dismissed NLC as having no constitutional power to order degazettement of a government forest land.
“Degazettement of boundaries of a public forest involves endorsement by the National Assembly or Senate.
“This process has not been done, hence Kamiti Forest and Mt Kenya Forest in Tharaka-Nithi remains public gazetted forests,” read part of the statement.
In the Kenya Gazette notice, NLC ordered that a 419-acre parcel be hived off the Kamiti Forest and be shared among squatters.
KFS wanted the squatters who have been living on the land since it was gazetted as a forest evicted.
Kamiti Anmer Development Association (Kada), Muungano wa Kamiti Society, Kamiti Forest Squatters Association and Kamiti Anmer Squatters Welfare have laid claim to the land.
The groups argue that it was allocated to them by retired President Daniel Arap Moi in 1990s but the forest was neither degazetted or title deeds issued.
In Tharaka-Nithi County, NLC directed that 10,000 acres of Mount Kenya Forest land be given to a community to settle historical claims.
The commission also directed KFS to set aside 2000 acres of the forest that will act as a buffer zone between the forest and Atiriri Bururi Ma Chuka group.
The 3500 residents went to court in 2003 to claim 24,000 acres, the section between the first and second baseline of Chuka forest.
The KFS board noted that Kenya is endeavouring to achieve 10 percent tree cover by 2022, up from the current 7.2 percent out of which four percent consists of gazetted forest.
Therefore, it would be ideal to gazette more forests in order to contribute of the internationally set requirement of 10 percent tree cover.
The Atiriri Bururi Ma Chuka elders received the announcement of the NLC with a lot of joy and had already set a date for meeting to discuss on how to share the granted 10,000 acres.
[Full article on: Business Daily, by Alex Njeru]
