Kajiado Governor snubs pleas to lift ban on land sale

Isinya Deputy County Commissioner David Kipkimei (left) confers with Kajiado Governor David Nkedianye during a stormy meeting with a section of women who want the county government to completely ban the sale of alcohol in Isinya town. [PHOTO: PETERSON GITHAIGA/STANDARD]

KAJIADO: Governor David Nkedianye says the ban on land sale imposed by his administration a year ago is still on.

Speaking at Irkimaiyan during a thanks giving ceremony towards Ewaso Secondary School, Dr Nkedianye told the youth to protect their land.

Private developers and realtors have asked for the ban to be lifted to enable buyers obtain title deeds for their properties.

“We have banned the sale of land in this county because we are looking at the young generation so that it can in future have a place to call home. I am urging the youth to be bright enough and protect the land,” he said.

Senator Peter Mositet emphasised on the importance of land saying a big number of Maasai families are now homeless after their parents sold all the land in urban areas such as Kitengela, Kiserian and Ngong.

“I thank the governor and his government for taking a bold step of banning the sale of land, which has brought back sanity in many families,” said Mr Mositet.

Road Executive Dickson Ntikoisa said the youth must also preserve their culture.

“We must preserve our culture like the Jews but we must, however, stop some cultural practices that drag us backwards as a community. Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) should stop, early marriages and many other past practices must be left behind,” said Mr Ntikoisa.

Meanwhile, a group of Maasai women from Isinya now want the Government to completely ban the sale of alcohol in that town.

During a meeting attended by Nkedianye and Kajiado East MP Peris Tobiko, the women accused the local police and administration of colluding with bar owners.

Led by Monicah Naserian, the women have started collecting signatures to request President Uhuru Kenyatta and Interior Cabinet Secretary Joseph Nkaiserry to intervene and authorise the removal of some senior police officers who allegedly own several bars in the area.

ALCOHOL BAN

“We are very bitter with what’s happening in this town. Most of our husbands are in the hands of young girls who keep them here (in town) for months, while children wait for their fathers at home. We will not tolerate this,” said Ms Naserian.

“This small town has more than 150 bars and different joints where immoral acts take place openly and bhang is sold,” Agnes Kiranto alleged.

The appeal comes barely a week after a group of women invaded the town in an exercise aimed at destroying illicit brews. Several people were injured when the exercise turned chaotic.

Trouble started when more than 1,000 Maasai women drawn from different villages stormed the town and started searching for the illicit brews.

Armed with whips and sticks, the women broke into bars where the alleged illegal brew was said to be hidden. Licensed bar owners decried the act as illegal.

Trouble started when another group of agitated women started destroying properties and attacking anyone on site.

Isinya police boss Steven Wenda pleaded with the group not to take law into their own hands by destroying private property. His pleas fell on deaf ears as the women broke windows and doors.

“Our work is to protect lives and the property of all the citizens. We will not allow you to destroy any other place,” warned Wenda.