GSU officers forcefully occupy Moi land

GSU officers have occupied private property near the Eldoret State Lodge owned by the family of former President Daniel arap Moi. 

General Service Unit (GSU) officers have occupied a prime property owned by the family of Kenya’s second President, the late Daniel arap Moi, near the Eldoret State Lodge.

The property, registered as Eldoret Municipality/Block 8/62, was invaded Friday afternoon after what those in the know claim was an order from State house to evict current occupants.

Lawyer Moses Mutisya of Gordon Ogola and Associates, who represents the Moi family and Willowdale Investments Limited, said GSU officers ordered caretakers at the property to vacate.

Mutisya said that upon making inquiries, he was informed by the officers that they were acting on firm instructions to enforce the directive.

By Saturday afternoon, occupants had moved out of the property, according to the lawyer.

The parcel is strategically located near the main entrance to the State Lodge.

The area around the State Lodge was under tight security yesterday, with only government officials reportedly allowed to use roads leading to the protected area.

Photographs obtained by The Standard showed deserted premises within the property.

Mutisya, who spent much of the midmorning and afternoon at the property, said his pleas to stop the occupation were brushed aside.

He described the alleged occupation as unlawful and demanded immediate redress, warning that the owners would take legal action if the matter were not resolved.

Efforts to get a comment from the Government Spokesman Charles Owino were futile as he neither picked calls nor replied to text messages.

The advocate said caretakers were shocked when GSU officers later informed them that they were occupying government property.

“The said officers entered the property unlawfully and informed the caretakers of our client that a senior government official had directed that all adjoining properties to the State Lodge be vacated immediately,” Mutisya said during a media briefing in Eldoret.

He added: “My client has been in occupation of the property since 1996 and had a title to that effect.”

Some cows, which Mutisya said did not belong to his client, were seen grazing on the disputed property.

“We are hereby demanding that this injustice be remedied, failure to which we will take appropriate legal action,” he said.

It was not immediately clear whether the alleged eviction was linked to a land dispute or a security measure. However, the owners, through their lawyer, maintained that they had documents proving ownership of the property.

Mutisya said the land had not been the subject of any dispute for nearly three decades and that no eviction notice had been issued before the officers moved in.