A family in Malindi, Kilifi county is in distress after they were reportedly ordered to vacate land they have lived on for decades.
Speaking to the press on Saturday, November 12, 2022, one of the victims painfully narrated that she was ordered to vacate the premise within the next three days.
She also disclosed that she was offered Ksh7,000 to look for alternative places to live with her children and grandchildren.
"Leo hii sina raha naona maisha yangu ni kama yamekatika kwa sababu tumekuja tumekuja tukatishiwa tukaambiiwa tunavunjiwa na hapa ndo nmezaliwa, niko na watoto na wajukuu sai, nashindwa nitaenda wapi manake nmepewa siku tatu tu niondoke na kwenye nitaenda wenye wameniambia niondoke wamenipatia elfu saba niambieni nitaenda wapi na elfu saba?" she posed.
The woman is now pleading with the government to intervene and help them out of the unexpected situation.
"Naomba kama serikali itatusaidia, itusaidie," she added.
Similar incident
The latest comes months after some 71 families living in Patakwa settlement scheme in Saboti Constituency, Trans Nzoia County were evicted from their land.
At the time, the victims took to the streets to protest against the eviction order by the Kitale Lands and Environment Court.
While addressing the press in Berur area, Joseph Ngeiywa, the Secretary General of Patwaka farm noted that they acquired the land from the government in 2013 after they were evicted from Chepyuk in Mount Elgon at the height of Saboat Land Defense Forces (SLDF) uprising.
“The government allocated us the said land in March 2013. Our names appear on the list used to allocate the beneficiaries of our plots and the ballots duly vetted by the task force chaired by Solomon Ouko,” Ngeiywa said.
“Tension is building up in this area because the people targeted do not have another place to go. More than 80 families risk being rendered landless and homeless which will create a serious humanitarian crisis,” he added.
Phyllis Marangach, the chairperson of the farm questioned the motive behind the eviction and asked the government to intervene to avert looming danger in the land.
“Some of our children are orphaned. There are also widows, the elderly and the disabled. If we are flushed from our legally acquired land, where shall we go?” Marangach asked.
Florence Chebon, an elderly widow and a mother of 12 boys, said all the people were allocated two and a half acres of land after a successful vetting process.
“We left Chepyuk for vetting before we were allocated the plots. I am now a widow with 12 children who live on my piece of land. Now the government wants to evict us from our land, where shall we go? Show us, please,” Chebon pleaded.
