The expansion of Mama Ngina University in Mutomo village, Gatundu South has suffered a major setback after the Lands Tribunal halted plans to acquire more land.
The University, a brainchild of former MP, the late Joseph Ngugi, was constructed in 2019 on a 10.3-acre piece of land and the management is seeking 40 acres of the adjacent land for expansion. This move would have affected at least 180 households.
In a Special Gazette Notice, the NLC sought to, on behalf of the Ministry of Education, acquire land parcels from about 180 households for the expansion of the university.
However, a section of residents whose land was supposed to be affected by the plan moved to Court to challenge the decision. They have been embroiled in a heated legal battle, fighting not to be relocated from their ancestral land.
On Monday, the Tribunal chaired by Dr Nabil Orina halted any plans to acquire locals’ land for the expansion of the institution after ruling in favor of the petitioners.
The Tribunal observed that the Commission for University Education (CUE), the 2nd respondent in the petition, failed to meet the constitutional and statutory criteria for compulsory acquisition of land. On the other hand, it observed that the NLC failed in its mandate to approve the request for land acquisition.
The Tribunal indicated that CUE failed to show cause on whether there was demand for a university in the area noting that there are other universities that are close to the area including Kenyatta University (KU) and Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT).
It also indicated that no funds for the acquisition of the said land were availed to the commission and there were no timelines on when the funds would be availed. Orina noted that the State was not ready for the land acquisition.
“It is evident to us that the State was not ready to undertake this acquisition for the failure to provide the necessary funds that would compensate those whose homes were to be involuntarily taken,” Dr. Orina said.
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The Tribunal declared NLC’s Gazzete 10278 of 2021 as null and void for violating Article 3 of the constitution and Sections 107, 110 (1) and 111 (1A) of the Land Act.
“An order of Certiorari be and is hereby issued quashing the 1st respondent’s (National Land Tribunal) decision contained in Gazette Notice number 10278 dated 27th September 2021 intending to acquire land from the petitioners and other residents of Mutomo village for the expansion of the 2nd respondent (Mama Ngina University College)
The petitioners who have been objecting the University expansion plans broke with song and dance after their spirited efforts to fight off compulsory acquisition of their land bore fruits.
The faction led by Margaret Njeri said that they had vowed to never leave their ancestral land for whatever reason saying that they would not bear the pain of exhuming their loved ones including their forefathers.
“This is where we were born and raised. We have buried our parents in these pieces of land. Those buried here are more than 100 and telling us to exhume their remains is like open old wounds. They were telling us that they would eject us from our plots and take us to Lamu or Rift Valley to die there. Our God has however won us this battle,” Njeri said.
Njeri said that NLC never conducted any public participation meeting with residents adding that no consensus was arrived between the locals and the government.
The ruling comes as a blow to some 179 locals who had ceded their quarter-acre plots. They were expecting to receive Ksh 2.12 billion as compensation for their properties.
NLC in May 2022 brokered a deal bringing the compensation row pitting Mutomo Land Owners Association and the Government to an end.
The constituent college of Kenyatta University is tucked about 100 meters off Kenyatta Road in Mutomo village, and about 14.5km from Thika Road.
By Kamau Njoroge
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