Assigning of scheme land to beneficiaries kicks off

Kithumbu speaks to Mwea Settlement Scheme beneficiaries
at Umau Grounds.

 The final phase of surveying and subdividing the 44,000 acre Mwea settlement scheme takes place this week when lands officials will assign beneficiaries their respective parcels on the ground.

Embu County Lands Executive Josphat Kithumbu revealed the controversial scheme, which is located in Mbeere South, had been divided into 34 blocks comprising individual parcels totaling 7,232 pieces.

Speaking when alongside the county security team, they met the beneficiaries at Umau Grounds on Monday, Kithumbu said the beneficiaries will be taken to their parcels on three different days.

Showdown, however, looms as current settlers in the scheme who are discontent in the way the sub-division was done have vowed to oppose the settlement of beneficiaries on the land.

As the Umau meeting continued, the squabbling residents held a meeting at Makima area where they claimed the subdivision was unfairly undone and should be repeated in a more transparent manner.

Residents of Mwea Settlement Scheme
demonstrate at Makima market

They about a 1,000 residents complained that they had nowhere else to move if evicted from their lands where they have lived up to 40 years, a scenario they fear is imminent after beacons were erected last week.

President Uhuru Kenyatta while campaigning in the area last year had called for solving of the arising disputes.

Kithumbu said the issue of deserving residents who were mistakenly left had been taken care of since the County Government plans to issue an additional 2,000 parcels to them.

He said the county security team had made the necessary security arrangements in assigning the land to the beneficiaries, while committees of elders would handle local disputes that might arise.

Mbeere South Deputy County Commissioner Beverly Oporwah backed Kithumbu’s assertions adding that land had been set aside for police posts and chief’s camps for long term security management.

She said other public utilities such as hospitals and government services would follow, adding that they were confident of thriving farming and development projects in the area.

Kithumbu said the county government had accomplished a fete in legally demarcating and subdividing the contentious scheme, after successive governments failed due to political interference since the 1970s.

“We followed the due legal processes. The various groups of elders who had lodged cases in courts agreed to withdraw them.  Surveying was done using modern GPS, mapping was done and no one questioned it.

“We allocated land as per lists of beneficiaries provided by elders’ groups.  The Ministry of Lands and the National Lands Commission were involved in issuance of the title deeds and the Lands Cabinet Secretary approved it. The Attorney General confirmed everything was done according to the law” said Kithumbu.

Beneficiaries of Mwea Settlement Scheme during
the Umau meeting.

He said the scheme has since ceased to exist and replaced by individual parcels of lands with titles and with green cards available at the Siakago registry.

The official said the various towns and markets in the maps will be gazetted and their physical plans drawn to pave way for their development.

He urged the beneficiaries to consider fencing their parcels.