Uasin Gishu Governor Jonathan Bii alongside area MCAs have strongly rejected plans to transfer the new registrar of lands from Nairobi to Uasin Gishu.
The leaders have read mischief in the plans terming the move insincere and one that has a lot of personal interests behind it.
According to the leaders, the plan to transfer the Lands Registrar serving in Eldoret will be opposed in the strongest terms possible insisting that it is not being done in good faith.
They argued that well-known cartels who have grabbed land and have vested interests want a registrar who will take care of their interests and protect parcels of land that were grabbed.
Governor Bii and the MCAs noted that they cannot afford to lose land that was surrendered by residents as public utility land and allow it to be taken by selfish, reckless, and irresponsible citizens.
Cover up
They claimed that the new registrar was being brought to cover up cases of public land that have been grabbed and frustrate their efforts to repossess hundreds of acres of public land that have fallen into the wrong hands.
“The current registrar in Eldoret had initiated measures of repossessing grabbed land. Most of the vulnerable and targeted wards include Rasecource, Langas, Kapseret, and others around Eldoret town. We want the Cabinet Secretary for Lands to reconsider and consult before effecting the transfer,” Governor Bii said.
He spoke during a recent disbursement of bursary fund cheques to needy students.
The MCAs further asked the County Executive Committee Member for lands not to accept or approve the new registrar until the entire leadership in Uasin Gishu is consulted over the matter.
They said their mandate is to protect the interests of the residents.
Cartels known
“You can imagine today we want to build an official house for the governor, deputy governor, and our speaker and we have provided resources, and to be told that the department has gone around the county looking to establish the positions of these parcels of land but almost all of them have been grabbed,” Racecourse MCA Amos Kiptanui said.
The ward representatives also claim the land cartels are well known and should not be allowed to continue grabbing public land.
They urged President William Ruto to stop the transfer and give support to them in repossessing public land that has been grabbed.
“Governor we urge you to issue an executive order to stop the transfer of a new registrar to Eldoret until your office is consulted. They want to do a reshuffle. As the assembly are going to reject whoever they are going to bring here because we are tired of land litigations,” Moses Kebenei who is the chairperson of lands at the County Assembly said.
