Over 500 aggrieved residents of Chokaa in Njiru have filed an urgent application seeking an order to stop them from being evicted from the estate of the late Gerishon Kirima.
In the case filed by the settlers through 31 officials of Chokaa Upper Chamber Welfare Group, the residents want the court to put on hold the judgment issued by Justice Samson Okong’o last year requiring them to vacate over 1,000 acres of land owned by the Kirima family.
"The court be pleased to issue orders restraining against the Kirima family whether by themselves or their representative, servants, agents, and or any other person authorized by them from forcefully evicting the Plaintiff's members or interfering with the Plaintiff's members' quiet enjoyment from the plots they each presently occupy, pending the hearing of this suit," the court papers state.
While seeking orders stopping their eviction, the applicants say they have been given strict conditions by lawyers representing the estate of the late tycoon to pay the family for the land.
Through lawyer Cecil Miller, the residents of Chokaa state that they were extremely shocked to receive various letters addressed by the firm of Kalpan and Stratton Advocates dispatched by unknown persons claiming to be representatives of the estate of the late Kirima claiming to be selling the land they occupy.
"The said letters confirmed that the estate of the late Kirima was selling the plots in which the plaintiff resided and that they were offering to the applicants to buy the plots and in default, they would be evicted from their respective plots," Miller says.
He adds that the residents have also received varying price quotations from the various letters sent to them by advocates of the family of Kirima without consultation with the officials of Chokaa Upper Chamber Welfare Group and its members.
While seeking orders, Miller told Justice Judy Omange of Milimani Environment and Land Court that the letters sent to the petitioners indicated that if they failed to pay the stated purchase prices to the Kirima Family they would immediately be evicted according to the court order.
The resident further informed the court that Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja and the Deputy County Commissioner had on various attempts tried to have discussions with them and Kirima family representatives but no consensus has ever been reached to date as the process has been interfered with by unknown persons who are standing brokers to benefit from the transaction.
31 officials of Chokaa Upper Chamber Welfare Group led by Mackenzie Odera and Mohamed Adan Sawata revealed that without their instruction some of the members' names were collected in a public meeting held by the Deputy County Commissioner and the same were used by the firm of Wanyanga and Company advocates to file a lawyer a lawsuit in Nairobi ELC No. 1257 of 2014.
"Plaintiff instructed their advocates on record herein Miller to act for them and protect their interest and the said advocates wrote to Kilima family advocates on January 17, 2024, and February 1, 2024, and also wrote to Governor Sakaja on the same dates informing them that they had instructions from them and that they are willing to engage the Land Registrar with a view of negotiating purchase of their plots, subject to parties making agreement as to the purchase price, the topographical survey maps of the property to ascertain the exact location we occupy and the modalities of the transaction," the court papers state.
The residents state that Kirima's family through their advocates Kaplan and Stratton Advocates responded to their letter on February 22, 2024, requesting for their contact details to forward to the estate's representatives to facilitate verification exercise.
They say Governor Sakaja on his side has never responded to their letters to date and they are very apprehensive that they may be forcefully evicted from their homes and face huge financial loss.
"The plaintiff's members are very apprehensive that there could be a great likelihood that their plots are not located within the Kirima's property and as such, they seek to have topographical survey maps or survey to be done on the Kirima's property to ascertain the exact location of the disputed property and to establish whether they are at all affected by the decision of the court made last year," Miller says.
The petitioners also contend that there was no site visit conducted on their plots of land by the court before the decision to declare the land belonged to Kirima.
Miller says his clients have also done various valuations on their plots to ascertain the market value of their plots and have had valuations of plots on L.R. No. 6825 and each valuation shows different amounts.
They seek fresh survey and valuation of the plots since they bought and took possession of the same while vacant and undeveloped.
"The Plaintiff's members are persons of meagre means and not able to make full lump sum payment towards the purchase price of their respective plots upon valuation by the Government Valuer and the Plaintiff seeks the Court in protection of their right to protection of property as contained in Article 40 of the Constitution, to determine that the Plaintiff's members be allowed to pay the ascertained purchase price in instalment modalities to the Kirima family," the lawyer seeks.
The residents of Chokaa claim that the Kirima's legal representatives have been mobilizing individual owners separately and the same is causing great anxiety among them as it is not clear as to the criteria used by the said representatives to ascertain plot values and also there is no clear clarity of the entire transaction.
"We are very keen to purchase the portions we have developed and occupy on the properties subject to clear identification that our' plots are located within L.R. 5908/8 and L.R. 6825/2 and further upon a valuation of the plots from a Government valuer and finally upon parties making agreement as to payment modalities of the transaction," they state in their court papers.
They seek the court to also prevent plots and homes from being demolished or destroyed by the Kirima family and or persons taking authority from the late politician's estate representatives.
"The Plaintiff seeks this court to safeguard the plaintiff's members from being defrauded again by being forced to make other payments in haste without legitimate identification of whether the plaintiff's members' plot fall within Kirima property and also proper title identification documentations," Miller says.
Justice Omange ordered the case be mentioned on March 5, 2024, when the case will be heard together with several other cases lodged in court relating to the dispute on the Kirima land.
