Senate demands action on deadly land disputes, seeks state’s response on rising killings
The National Security Committee is expected to report to the Senate on government measures in place to protect families, resolve land inheritance disputes, and stop the growing violence linked to polygamy-related land rows.
The Senate has raised concerns over rising cases of killings across the country linked to land disputes and has asked the government to explain the security measures in place to protect families under threat.
The legislators want the National Security Committee to look into the recent wave of violence and report what steps the government is taking, both in the short and long term.
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While requesting a statement from the Standing Committee on National Security, Defence and Foreign Relations, Senator Richard Onyonka said the killings point to a growing national crisis that must be addressed urgently.
He pointed to the brutal murder of five members of a family in Metembe village, Masaba South Sub-County in Kisii County in April, where their homes were also torched in a retaliatory mob attack tied to a long-standing land conflict. Two other family members narrowly escaped.
Another case was recorded under OB No.05/13/04/2025 at Nyamasibi Police Post, where Evans Obiero, his wife Kerubo, and their children fled their home after receiving death threats from armed gangs over a polygamy-related land dispute.
In Siaya County, nine family members were burnt to death in an arson attack on April 22, 2025, in Sigomere, Ugunja Sub-County, also over a land feud.
“The committee must also tell us whether the government could consider forming a national taskforce or commission to address the root causes of recurring and now deadly land-related conflicts,” Senator Onyonka said.
He also urged the committee, chaired by Senator Fatuma Dullo, to state the progress made in investigating and prosecuting those involved in the Kisii and Siaya attacks, and to explain why the response by local law enforcement was slow or lacking despite formal reports.
The National Security Committee is expected to report to the Senate on government measures in place to protect families, resolve land inheritance disputes, and stop the growing violence linked to polygamy-related land rows.
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