MPs summon Gideon Moi over disputed 5,000-acre Rift Valley Institute land

The National Assembly has summoned former Baringo Senator Gideon Moi to explain the status of 5,000 acres of land associated with the Rift Valley Institute of Science and Technology.

He is also expected to clarify the ownership documents for an additional 200 acres of land valued at Sh1.08 billion, where the institute is located.

A board of trustees, which Moi chairs, currently manages these parcels of land privately.

The National Assembly's Public Investment Committee on Governance and Education argues that the land, held in trust, should be returned to the college.

The committee revealed that the local community raised funds in 1972 to purchase the land specifically for the college.

At that time, a board of trustees was appointed to oversee the land on behalf of the community, but they have yet to hand over the 5,000 acres to the institute.

Instead, they have only donated the 200 acres on which the college sits, while retaining the title documents for the remaining land.

"In 1972, when the community came together to buy land, 200 acres were set aside to develop the Rift Valley Institute of Technology," said the institute's principal, Sammy Chemoiwa.

He insisted that he could only speak to the matter of the 200 acres under his jurisdiction.

Committee chairman Wanami Wamboka cited the TVETs Act of 2014, accusing the trustees of improperly retaining the college's land.

Wamboka stated that the community's fundraising efforts meant the parcels should be considered public property.

"The TVET Act, as revised in 2014, requires all trustees to hand over properties held in trust to the public," he added.

He indicated that the committee would summon Gideon Moi and other trustees within three weeks to compel them to relinquish the public land.

"These were not Moi's properties; if he wanted to donate land, he could have given a portion of his extensive holdings," Wamboka noted.

"It is only fair that we summon all the trustees, including Moi, so that we can return this land to the public. Public land will go back to the public at whatever cost," he added.

The committee met with Chemoiwa to address audit queries raised by Auditor General Nancy Gathungu.

They plan to visit the institution next month to further discuss the land issue, with both the board of trustees and the institute's board of governors participating in the fact-finding meeting.