Defense Cabinet Secretary Aden Duale on Monday, May 22, 2023, hosted a section of political leaders from Uasin Gishu county for a meeting that sought to resolve issues of locals settled on military land in Eldoret.
The meeting, a second one this year was held at the Defence Headquarters in Nairobi.
According to a tweet by the Defense CS, the meeting resolved that officials from all relevant government agencies visit the disputed land within the next two weeks.
“I met the leadership of the County Government of Uasin Gishu, National Land Commission (NLC) and the Ministry of Lands to draw a roadmap of resettling the locals,” Duale said in part of the series of tweets.
“It was resolved that, in two weeks, officials from the Ministry of Defence (MoD), Ministry of Lands, National Land Commission and the leadership of Uasin Gishu County will visit the affected region to start the implementation of the resolution,” he added.
The Defense CS further said during the meeting, he reiterated that the military intends to remain a good neighbour to every community that hosts the Kenya Defence Forces (KDF).
Legitimate owners
This, Duale noted, will enable them to continue contributing to the security ecosystem and infrastructure development.
Among the Uasin Gishu leaders present include Governor Jonathan Bii, Senator Jackson Mandago, County Woman Member of Parliament Gladys Boss Shollei as well as Turbo Member of Parliament Janet Sitienei.
Defence Principal Secretary Patrick Mariru, Vice Chief of Defence Forces (VCDF) Lieutenant General Jonah Mwangi, Assistant Chief of Defence Forces in charge of Personnel and Logistics (ACDF P&L) Major General David Keter were also in attendance.
There has been a dispute over ownership of part of the land within the 9-K farm – with both locals and the military claiming to be the legitimate owners.
The dispute in December 2021 turned tragic after two civilians were shot dead by officers of the military.
The disputed land borders KDF Recruits Training School (RTS) and the Kenya Ordinance Factory (KOF), which are military installations in Uasin Gishu.
