- EDITOR’S BRIEF: This ruling is a significant victory for land rights in Kenya and sets a precedent for cases where multinational corporations have been accused of land grabbing. It also highlights the importance of fighting for justice and speaking out against land injustices, whether past or present.
After a 35-year legal battle, an Environment and Labour court has ordered a multinational firm based in Kimasas, Nandi County, to return 350 acres of land to over 600 local squatters. The firm and the squatters were embroiled in a legal battle that resulted in the squatters’ eviction from the land in 1996.
On Friday, April 21, the court ruled that the land belonged legitimately to the squatters. The residents expressed delight in the judgment while recalling the years of heartache and struggle for the land.
“When they seized the land, we were very young, and it was disheartening to see our parents forcefully evicted away. At the time, most of us did not continue with education past primary school due to financial issues. Now, that the court ruled in our favour, I will go back to school,” Stephen Tuwei, a Nandi resident, stated.
The squatters stated that they acquired the land from the colonial government until 1986, when a multinational firm forcefully seized it. Ten years later, the firm evicted 600 squatters, according to the locals. In 2017, the squatters drafted a declaration titled the Nandi Hill Declaration of 2017 to urge the county government to probe land injustices, whether past or present.
In particular, the declaration pointed out that transactions that were not in the interests of the people of Nandi County ought not to be recognised as valid.
“The Constitution does not protect illegal owners of the land which comprises of foreigners, locals or multinationals and we shall pursue the parcels in question to the end,” read part of the declaration. A year later, the national land commission and the Nandi County Government moved to court to recover the land.
In addition to the ruling, the residents instructed their lawyers to seek compensation for the suffering the eviction cost them and the years of turmoil over the court battle. The residents hope to use the land to farm and build homes.
