Koinange, Mpoe families clash over Muthera farm

A police officer restrained a man wielding a machete after two factions supporting the Mpoe and Koinange families clashed at Muthera Farm in Njoro, Nakuru County, on August 16, 2024. [Kipsang Joseph, Standard]

The ownership row over the 4,296-acre Muthera farm in Njoro, Nakuru County is far from over as two groups claim ownership of the agricultural land.

A confrontation ensued at the expansive farm on Friday as the family of the late former cabinet minister Mbiyu Koinange made an orientation tour of the property for a new group of managers.

A group allied to the family of the late Kikenyi Ole Mpoe, which is also claiming ownership of the land, confronted the group accompanying the Koinange family.

The Koinange family had just began a meeting outside one of the colonial time houses but were interrupted by the Mpoe faction armed with crude weapons and swords.

"There is no meeting that is going to take place here without our knowledge and involvement," the youths chanted as they charged towards the meeting making some participants flee.

It took a group of elders aided by a handful of police officers to diffuse the tension but the meeting was paralysed. The officers said that the meeting needed proper security arrangements.

The two groups also addressed the press separately, with each maintaining that they are the legitimate owners and that the other should cease trespassing.

Cedric Mbiyu, a grandson of the late Mbiyu Koinange said that Lands records recognise the Koinange family as the sole owners of the parcel.

"The land has been my grandfather's since the 1970s when he purchased it. Those claiming to also own it were former employees taking advantage of our periodic absence on the property," said Cedric.

The court in 2020 resolved a 1981 succession case for the parcel of land filed by the Koinange family, paving way for the beneficiaries to subdivide it among themselves.

"We subdivided the land but some of us have been unable to take possession and occupy the land because of intimidation and attacks like today's," said Cedric.

Samson Ole Nkuruna, another long-serving manager said that he temporarily stepped aside following a court ruling that declared the Koinange family as the legitimate owners.

"I have lived here for decades and the property has been known to belong to the Koinange family," said Nkuruna.

Nkuruna reiterated that it was regrettable that the family, despite having valid documents, still relies on heavy security deployments whenever they seek to access the property.

On his part, Joseph Ole Mpoe, a son to the late Kikenyi Ole Mpoe maintained that the land belonged to his father for a period spanning to before the country gained independence.

"This has been our family land since the 1930s. We have presented documents which the Koinange family has dismissed as forged. We are not letting go of our inheritance," said Joseph.

He added that the Koinange family had taken advantage of their influence to take over the land.

"Koinange was the Minister of Interior when he first laid claim on our land. To us, he grabbed it but we still occupy it. We have been having chaos since 1981 when they started attempts to take over the land," said Joseph.

Josephat Munke Ole Mpoe noted that the family had lost six members fighting for the land, saying that all government systems had been skewed against them.

Mau Narok Assistant County Commissioner Fredrick Mwenda said the farm controversy has turned into a security threat in the area.

"The government is in the know that the land belongs to the Koinange family. The government has no interest in it as alleged by a section of a group using the President's name to intimidate the Koinanges," said Mwenda.