Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen Wednesday revealed at least 62 elders have been killed by their children and relatives over land inheritances in Kilifi.
While raising alarm over insecurity caused by land disputes in the Coastal region, Murkomen put on notice the land registry officials, judicial officers and government administrators behind land fraud in Kilifi County.
Speaking while on his third day of Coastal tour, he warned the land cartels in Kilifi County that their time was up.
“You see dubious and suspect court orders that lead to land theft. Administrators and corrupt officials from the land registry also facilitate land ownership theft,” Murkomen stated.
He attributed the insecurity in the county, including the killings of elderly individuals, to powerful cartels such as land registry officers, judicial officers, and government administrators, who are believed to manipulate land ownership records.
“The elders now do not want to collect IDs because they fear their lives will be targeted,” Murkomen pointed out.
He appealed to the county residents to follow due process while acquiring parcels of land.
He warned land theft collaborators that their days are numbered as those found culpable will face the full force of the law.
He said investigations are ongoing and they will soon reveal all those involved.
Murkomen said it will no longer be business as usual for those individuals involved in this vice that has led to people being dispossessed of their land and rendering many squatters while heightening incidents of insecurity in the region.
Speaking in Kilifi after a closed-door security meeting to deliberate on the situation, Murkomen said land disputes are a matter of concern that needs to be resolved urgently as it poses a security threat.
“Political actors are under investigation for colluding with professionals, lawyers and judicial officials, and those implicated will be dealt with especially public officers from Lands and security agencies,” cautioned the CS.
He disclosed that elderly people are being taken advantage of and dispossessed of prime land because of poverty levels and illiteracy.
“Land disputes are rampant in this county and the situation is not any different in others parts of the Coast like Kwale. It has led to a squatter situation and competition for resources,“ said the CS who is on his third leg of the Jukwaa la Usalama working tour of the coast region.
“We will engage the Judiciary and the National Land Commission to address these issues especially in getting title deeds to rid off land invasions.”
He said illegal transfer of land was an emotive issue in the region, as elders are dethroned by their kin, who go ahead and sell it.
“I will be escalating this matter. I will have consultations with Chief Justice Martha Koome on the concerns about the conduct of judicial officials giving conflicting orders. This casts aspersions on their intentions and it’s a matter that should be discussed at the Commission on Administrative Justice,”promised the CS.
The CS is on a six-day elaborate tour of the Coast region to assess security and service delivery.
He is also engaging in consultative meetings with locals leaders and the security officers to get feedback on delivery of government services and activation of mobile ID applications.
He is accompanied by the PS for Correctional Services Dr Salome Beacco.
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