Isiolo residents demand justice in military land disputes
They said the military went on to take over more than 18,000 acres of land, disrupting their way of life.
Residents of Ngaremara in Isiolo County have raised alarm over what they say is continued loss of their ancestral land to the Kenya Defence Forces (KDF), calling on the National Land Commission (NLC) to speed up the process of hearing land injustice cases.
During a public hearing held by NLC at the Catholic Diocese of Isiolo grounds, members of the Ngaremara community including Chokaa, Nakuprat and Manayatta Zebra areas, said the situation has deeply affected their lives.
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They accused KDF of occupying land they inherited from their forefathers, leaving them homeless and unable to earn a living.
The community pointed to the establishment of a KDF base after the construction of the Isiolo-Moyale highway as the beginning of their troubles.
They said the military went on to take over more than 18,000 acres of land, disrupting their way of life.
“We have lost over 18,000 acres of land which have been taken over by the KDF. Our people have become internally displaced due to loss of their homes and the education of our children has also been affected since a school that used to be within the area was destroyed. Graves of our parents and grandparents have also been interfered with,” said Zachary Luchilia, a community elder.
Dominic Ngoyan, a member of the Turkana community, said they had already submitted a petition in 2022 and are only asking to be heard.
“We filed the petition in 2022 and have produced all the evidence needed so that we can get justice. We want to be heard and hope that the commission will look into our case because we don’t want our future generations to be affected,” he said.
NLC commissioner Prof. James Tuitoek explained that while they have received 3,743 claims nationwide, 27 are from Isiolo alone.
Timeline
He said investigations into local disputes involving KDF, the airport and the Ministry of Livestock are ongoing and decisions will be made by the end of the year.
Commissioner Tiyah Galgalo encouraged residents with land issues to support the commission's work by cooperating.
This is not the first time Isiolo is facing lad issues between KDF and the community.
In November 2023, a technical team was set up to come up with a solution within 14 days over the Isiolo- KDF land dispute.
This was agreed upon after a consultative meeting between the Ministry of Defence and the Isiolo County government.
The School of Infantry (SOI) land is the area contested where both KDF and Isiolo residents claimed ownership.
Isiolo County plays host to at least Four Military installations, namely the Seventy-eighth Tank Batallion, The School of Infantry (SOI), The School of Artillery (SOA), and the School of Combat Engineering (SOCE), with residents accusing the soldiers of forcefully shifting the boundary to the land they were allocated by community elders to set up their camps.
The team was then expected to establish boundaries on all KDF-claimed land and also structures built on land claimed by the community and the defence forces.
Also, the team as to identify all land (Acreage ) claimed by KDF as well as come up with suggestions on how to effectively solve and resolve this conflict.
The then Cabinet Secretary for Defence Aden Duale noted that the emotive disputes relating to military lands between the Ministry of Defence and local communities, require concerted effort, bringing together regional leaders and other stakeholders for a lasting, win-win resolution.
“We resolved to explore all ways possible to settle all court cases filed by the people of Isiolo against the School and give dialogue a chance in amicably addressing the challenge,” he said.
Duale also noted that Isiolo is one of the critical areas with a serious presence of the KDF, where soldiers are trained.
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