Surviving members of the Wareng/Nyakinyua Dance Troupe in Uasin Gishu County are asking President Uhuru Kenyatta to come to their rescue in search for title deeds.
The members have for years been seeking to get titles for their Ksh800 million piece of land in Kapseret Sub County, but all in vain.
The land in question is 80 acres, in a prime area.
A 105-year-old woman, Cicilia Njeri Mbugua, is one of the 300 surviving members of the Wareng/Nyakinyua dance troupe.
Njeri is currently living in Burnt Forest area.
She has for the last 30 years hoped to return back to her land in Eldoret after they were evicted in the 1992 tribal clashes that forced many of Wareng/Nyakinyua dancers to flee their land that has now been grabbed by some known individuals who continue to develop it with disregard to the rule of law.
“I have seen President Uhuru kenyatta issue out title deeds across the country he has less than one moth in office and i wish to beg him to issue us with out title deeds that we have waited for the last 50 years,” the 105-year-old woman told uasingishunews.co.ke.
Njeri who is in her sun set days says they collectively bought the land as members of Nyakinyua from proceeds that they got from singing for the founding President, the late Jomo Kenyatta.
Dance Troupe members
She points out that despite the fact that they have a legitimate title deed, they have been denied their right to develop the land.
“We have a mother title to the parcel of land. We have over the years completed subdivision of the land into over 400 plots and this process has been delayed at the Ministry of lands and specifically in Dr Nicholas Muraguri’s office,” she said.
Dr Muraguri is the Principle Secretary in Ministry of Land and Physical Planning.
And a few Kilometres from Njeri’s home is Esther Wanjiku’s place.
The 84-year-old is another surviving member of the Wareng/Nyakinyua Dancers.
She lives in a rented house. Her ailing body has forced her to be indoors through out. She faces eviction over rent arrears that she can’t pay since she has no strength left to carry out daily manual chores to raise enough money.
“I am weak. I have to stay indoors. My children can only feed me. I am unable to raise enough money to pay the rent. Any time now, I may be forced out of this place,” Wanjiku says.
Hope to get title deeds
“I have a land that we bought in Eldoret many years ago but we cant access it. It’s not helping me and I plead with president Uhuru and PS Muraguri to accord us just this one wish – title deeds,” she added.
Another member of the Wareng/Nyakinyua dance troupe Jecinta Muthoni Mundia says they have walked in and out of every government office in persuit of their rights to land ownership, but all in vain.
She claims influential people and politicians continue to use the political influcence and money to deny them of the rights.
“We have followed all government requirments as regards to the subdivision of our land but we know of individuals who collude with certain land officials to deny us the ownership of our land. They are hoping that after President Uhuru’s exit, they will forcefully own our land. As old people, we are pleading with our son President Uhuru and PS Muraguri hand over out tile deeds for the said plots as they have done elsewhere in the country,” Muthoni said.
Recently, President Uhuru Kenyatta has been moving around the country, presiding over issuance of land title deeds, and it is the hope for the surviving members of the Wareng/Nyakinyua Dance Troupe that they will get theirs soon.
