Win for Ng'aari group ranch in 5,000 acres land dispute

The High Court in Nyahururu has declared all title deeds issued for the 5,000 acres of Ng’aari Group Ranch in Samburu County fraudulent.

Justice Kossy Bor ordered fresh allocation of the land.

The court ordered the formation of a team that includes representatives from the over 2,000 members and the Ng’aari Group Ranch officials within 14 days.

This joint team will be responsible for identifying legitimate landowners, verifying records, and compiling a list of those who missed out on the allocation.

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Justice Bor further asked the team to complete the process within 45 days, with priority given to orphans and widows.

The management of the ranch is also required to submit all documents used in the original allocation for transparency.

“To resolve the dispute, those who received more than one parcel of land will need to return the extra land for redistribution. If they have already sold it, they must compensate those who were left out based on the current market value,” read the judgment in part.

The judge warned that the exercise must not affect public land.

Justice Bor said he would review the process in six months and ordered the chairman and treasurer of the group ranch to cover the costs of the suit.

During the hearing, members presented evidence that highlighted a well-orchestrated fraudulent allocation, which left many families in limbo.

They revealed how individuals, led by group ranch officials, turned a communal ranch into a marketplace, illegally allocating and selling land.

The evidence included details on how key figures within the ranch’s management secretly altered the official register by inserting names of individuals who were not part of the original list.

Documentation presented in court revealed alarming cases of alleged nepotism in land allocation, with key officials distributing multiple parcels to their family members while others received land for free or paid hefty bribes to be included.

On Monday, a meeting convened to inform members who had been left out of the allocation about the judgment turned into a celebration.

Lasi Letiwa, one of the people who had been excluded, expressed gratitude to the judge for the fair and just ruling.

 “The judge has delivered victory to widows and orphans, who have been crying for justice for two years. They now have hope for a better life,” he said.

National Boda Boda Chairman Thomas Lesaatin said that the fresh allocation will ensure justice for all.

 “What the court has done is ensure that justice has been served. The land will now be allocated to all those who were supposed to benefit,” he said.