Chakama residents demand subdivision of 50,000-acre ranch linked to cult activities
Residents, led by the local Chakama Pastors’ Fellowship, have linked the vast unoccupied land to cult activity, arguing it has become a breeding ground for crime and religious extremism.
Residents of Chakama in Kilifi County are demanding the immediate subdivision of the approximately 50,000-acre Chakama Ranch, which encompasses the Shakahola Forest, saying the unoccupied land has become a breeding ground for cult activity and insecurity.
Their call comes just days after the Inspector-General of Police, Douglas Kanja, ordered a multi-agency investigation into the entire Chakama Ranch. He toured Kwa Binzaro village, where homicide and forensic detectives have so far exhumed 34 bodies believed to be victims of cult leader Paul Mackenzie’s Good News International Church.
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“We want to work as a team — a multi-agency team. We want to engage everybody, from intelligence collectors to the community and its leadership. This is a very expansive area, and for that reason, it needs all of us to come together so that we can overcome this,” said Kanja during the visit.
The Chakama Ranch controversy stretches back years, following the discovery of mass graves inside the Shakahola Forest. Then-Interior Cabinet Secretary, now Deputy President, Kithure Kindiki, declared Chakama Ranch a disturbed area and a crime scene in April 2023.
In 2023, the question of ownership of the 50,000-acre Chakama Ranch in Kilifi County came to the fore after directors of Chakama Ranch Limited publicly asserted that they are the rightful owners of the land.
Led by Secretary-General Alfred Mwathethe, the directors presented documents, including title deed number 17503, issued on December 1, 1984 by the then West Malindi Municipality. According to the company, they acquired 100,000 acres under Chakama Ranch Limited, later subdividing the land between the ranch and the government, which purchased 50,000 acres to settle squatters under land registration number 13472.
“Sisi ndio wamiliki halisi, yeyote anayetaka kusema ni yake atoe ushahidi (We are the rightful owners; anyone claiming ownership must provide proof),” said Mwathethe.
Another member of Chakama Ranch Limited, Joseph Yeri, added, “This is the land we bought, and it shows clearly where the demarcations are. When we acquired that land, there was nobody there, which is why we applied for cattle grazing rights.”
The directors further claimed that controversial preacher Paul Mackenzie encroached on their land in 2021 and that they reported the matter at Lango Baya Police Station under OB number 04/04/08/2021 at 12:02 pm, but no action was taken. They said they had planned to invest in 20,000 acres in June 2023, but were blocked after the Shakahola tragedy and the curfew imposed on the land.
Residents, led by the local Chakama Pastors’ Fellowship, have linked the vast unoccupied land to cult activity, arguing it has become a breeding ground for crime and religious extremism.
They say they could use the land for farming and settlement to improve their livelihoods.
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