There are two types of land grabbers in Kenya. There are those who grab land for lack of land or homes!. We could call them squatters . These are those who have been disinherited by successive regimes. Land problem started when the British government took by force land belonging to communities.
After independence, the political elite, rather than resettle people replaced the white man and made the land situation more complex. The elite politicians then were Mzee Jomo Kenyatta, JM Kariuki , Njenga Karume, Kibaki, Moi and the likes.
This group grab land because of sheer greed for land knowing that land is the most important factor of production in a country that is yet to be industrialized and most people depend on land for survival … We could call them hyenas !
Then there is the second generation grabbers represented by Wiliam Kipchirchir Ruto, Curus Jjirongo & Co . These are men who befriended the the old political elite and started grabbing land right left and center.
These category is more ferocious and uses the excuse of the first generation grabbing prowess by asking us why we don’t talk about their predecessors in grabbing. ‘Why do you see the land that i have grabbed and not that is grabbed by my partners in crime?’ They would shameless pose!
They also happened to have been used in politically instigated clashes to chase people from their land in some parts of this country. They did this in the auspices of YK92 . Ruto was an important cog in this heinous elite crime outfit that enjoyed state protection
Those who found themselves landless sometimes occupy government land. They are victims of of forceful eviction like the recent Kariobangi evictions. We shall be showing how politician grab public land and settle people in congested places to create a poor voting block in slums .
gnamokode
By Soyinka Lempaa via Facebook
