Duale to reclaim forest land grabbed by top govt officials

Environment Cabinet Secretary nominee Aden Duale has pledged to revoke several title deeds for forest land acquired through grabbing and encroachment.

Appearing before the National Assembly Committee on Appointments, Duale acknowledged that he was aware of several lands that had been grabbed belonging to big people in government, including the Members of Parliament and conservancies.

He said if he is approved by the committee in his first 30 days in office, he will revoke all title deeds for grabbed land. This, he said, includes the 66 acres of Oloolua Forest land located in Kajiado County near the Kenya Nuclear Regulatory Authority.

“If this House approves me, in the first 30 days, working with the Minister of Lands and other government agencies, a number of titles, including those belonging to big people in government and some of the Members of Parliament, will be revoked,” he warned.

Duale warned that those who illegally encroach on forests will face consequences, regardless of their social status or profile.

“I will revoke all of them, and I’m ready to bear the consequences, particularly on the Oloolua Forest. I have been briefed and listened to experts, and I have seen it's been deliberate in the last two years. Some people got illegal title deeds, and it will be the first place I visit with the Committee on Environment where some of its members might be casualties.”

He asserted that he would also consolidate all land petitions, both genuine and fake, and present them before the Cabinet, where the next course of action would be taken.

communities living near Oloolua Forest protests against land grabbing in March 2024. (Photo: Handout)

“There are a number of petitions touching on grabbed forest land. Part of the forest has been put to use for agriculture and even government offices across the country. The history of forest being grabbed/ encroached on is as old as the Republic of Kenya.  If this house approves me, the first thing is to consolidate all the petitions dealt with or not dealt with by Parliament.  These include the genuine ones and those out of fraud. I will gently deliver a memo to the Cabinet so that it can make a decision on this matter,” he said.

MPs, wondered whether Duale had a list of the alleged land grabbers and asked if he would release it. However, the CS nominee said that he would coordinate with relevant dockets to trace the alleged individuals.

In March of this year, communities living near Oloolua Forest protested against the alleged grabbing of the land. According to the Oloolua Community Forest Association, a non-governmental organisation claimed a piece of land and began digging trenches to build a perimeter wall in January this year.

It took the intervention of the forest association to stop the organisation from encroaching on the land while they sought information from the Kenya Forest Service (KFS).

However, KFS denied the claims that part of the land had been grabbed and urged the public to present evidence to the nearest police station for investigation.

“Following public concerns regarding the alleged grabbing of a parcel of Oloolua Forest in Kajiado County, L.R no. 23269, Kenya Forest Service seeks to make a clarification on the matter. The portion of land in question is currently occupied by four government agencies. There is absolutely no individual who has been allocated land within Oloolua Forest,” KFS said.

The service noted that the ownership of the parcel of land remains under their jurisdiction.

“Any insinuation to the contrary is misleading and meant to create confusion and dissent among members of the public,” KFS said.