More than 100 squatters in Rumuruti, Laikipia County, staged a protest on Friday over claims of being excluded from a county land allocation exercise. The protesters alleged that senior county officials and influential individuals had appropriated land intended for genuine squatters, undermining a resettlement process that has been ongoing for seven years. Businesses in the town were reportedly paralyzed for several hours as the squatters voiced their grievances and demanded intervention from the National Land Commission (NLC).
Joseph Ole Nanywi, a local squatter, appealed to the NLC to nullify the recently released list of 2,141 land allocations, asserting that most genuine beneficiaries had been left out. Enough is enough. This is our land, and we stand firm, he said. Another resident, Rebecca Lekenya, alleged that the county’s land department manipulated the allocation process, giving large parcels to CECM members, prominent traders, contractors, and private schools, while sidelining the rightful squatters. We are saddened that those meant to benefit, the Kandura squatters, have been shortchanged by the very leaders we elected, she lamented.
Laikipia County Assembly majority leader and Rumuruti Ward MCA, John Gichuki Maina, admitted that he was allocated a plot without his knowledge and expressed willingness to surrender it. He acknowledged that the allocation process had favored wealthy individuals and companies with no ties to the area, leaving the vulnerable communities disenfranchised. The genuine squatters have been left out. We will not relent until justice is served and the landless receive their rightful share, he affirmed.
The protesters further criticized the lack of public participation, a legal requirement in land allocation exercises, noting that the NLC’s recently released list excluded more than 1,500 squatters previously identified on Prisons Department land. Attempts to obtain comments from Laikipia County’s NLC coordinator Grace Wairagu and CECM for Lands Ekwam Nabos were unsuccessful. The allocation process began in 2018, with the initial controversial list challenged in court. When Governor Joshua Irungu assumed office in 2022, squatters were persuaded to withdraw the case with a promise of fair distribution—a promise that demonstrators say has yet to be fulfilled.