BUMPY ride awaits you in Kitui South title deeds row, Ngilu to CS, MP

 Kitui Governor Charity Ngilu has accused Lands and Physical Planning Cabinet Secretary, Farida Karoney, of allegedly working in cahoots with Kitui South MP Rachael Nyamai to frustrate her efforts in serving the county residents.

Kitui Governor Charity Ngilu addresses a crowd at Ngwani trading centre, Ikanga-Kyatune ward in Kitui South on May 20, 2022. Ngilu accused Lands and Physical Planning Cabinet Secretary, Farida Karoney, of allegedly working in cahoots with Kitui South MP Rachael Nyamai to frustrate her efforts in serving the county residents. PHOTO/PAUL MUTUA

An enraged Ngilu further claimed that the CS and the MP, who is also the Parliamentary Committee on Lands and Environment chairperson, were being used by other “outside forces” to slow her down in the campaigns in propelling Azimio’s presidential candidate Raila Odinga to State House.

Addressing a public rally at Ngwani and Vote markets in Ikanga-Kyatune ward in Nyamai’s constituency on Friday, the governor alleged that Ms Karoney and Ms Nyamai conspired with the county Lands registrar to deny her access to more than 4,500 title deeds documents which she was scheduled to distribute to land owners in the constituency on Friday.

"They plotted to have the Kitui registry mysteriously locked today (Friday) so as to make it impossible for me to bring you your title deeds. Shame on them!" Ngilu fumed. 

Emotive

She regretted that it was unfortunate for leaders to play politics with emotive issues like land rights at the expense of their constituents' welfare.

"Such individuals who put their selfish interests above those of wananchi do not deserve to be called leaders. They are such a disgrace," Ngilu protested.

She wondered where the co-conspirators were when she, together with Lands Principal Secretary, Nicholas Muraguri, initiated the area's land adjudication exercise in early 2019 only to hijack the process at its completion stage.

Ngilu, however, warned the CS and Nyamai to brace for a bumpy ride, saying she would remain unbowed in her mission to arm the locals with the crucial documents.

"The people objecting to my efforts to grant the people of Kitui South land rights are keen on concealing the land injustices they have meted out at the locals," the governor said.

It also emerged that despite Ngilu's administration footing the land surveying and titling costs, a bogus observer committee had defrauded the residents over Sh2 million in the name of survey fees.

The locals revealed that the "dubious committee" demanded Sh400 and Sh500 from each of Ngwani and Vote land owners respectively in order to "facilitate" surveying of their pieces of land.

Ngilu vowed to get to the bottom of the fraud, noting that she will do everything within her capacity to ensure the residents get their money back.

STORY By PAUL MUTUA