Lead image for 30-year ex-PC Cheluget land dispute ends as government buys 5,800 acres for settlers.
The government has finally concluded a land sale deal with the family of former Nyanza Provincial Commissioner Isaiah Kiplangat Cheluget, bringing to an end a 30-year-long ownership dispute involving families settled on the property in Narok County.
More than 600 families invaded the 5,800-acre property in Narok South constituency and subdivided it among themselves, kicking out the former senior administrator in a move that led to a long-running court battle.
For 25 years, the three-decade-long land dispute was in various courts in Narok and Nairobi, with the Cheluget family emerging as the legal and rightful owners.
But the family was unable to access or use the highly agriculturally productive land, which borders the Mau Forest complex, amid threats of dire consequences from people who had forcibly taken possession of the property.
Senior government officials have now confirmed that the transaction for the land has progressed, with the Cheluget family being paid part of the agreed purchase sum, leading to its surrendering the original title deed.
It is a case of a win-win situation for both the Cheluget family and the families that had settled on the land for three decades but were unable to legitimately claim ownership of it. Some of the settlers had also been exploited by brokers who sold the property to them.
Mr Nixon Korir, the Principal Secretary for Lands and Physical Planning, Mr Julius Korir, the Principal Secretary for Water, Senate Majority Leader Aaron Cheruiyot, Narok Governor Patrick Ntutu, Narok South MP Kitilai Ole Ntutu and his Emurua Dikirr counterpart, David Keter, held a meeting at Kaplelach Primary School, which lies on the land, and assured the residents that the ownership tussle had been resolved.
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