Squatters living on a 419-acre parcel of land in Kiambu Town constituency, Kiambu County, have to bury their departed kin in unmarked makeshift graves, fearing that the bodies may be exhumed later.
Although the land that was once part of Kamiti Forest was hived off in the mid-1990s for the settlement of squatters, it has never been demarcated or gazetted for that purpose, even 30 years down the line.
According to Philip Makau, chairman of the Kamiti Forest Squatters Association, residents are compelled to bury their kin on a portion of land that is not gazetted as a cemetery because they have no other option.
“We are forced to lay our departed members in temporary and un-demarcated graves, which is rather worrying, but we have no choice. There is no other place to bury them, and we cannot afford to buy space in public cemeteries,” Makau told journalists.
Speaking during the burial of one of his members, Peter Mwangi, at Muoroto village, the chairman accused some former government officials of being sluggish in resolving the issue and of not settling the squatters once and for all.
Makau appealed to Lands Cabinet Secretary Alice Wahome to intervene and conduct a fact-finding exercise at the farm located along the Kamiti Corner-Kwamaiko road, off the Ruiru-Kiambu road.
He said many of the original beneficiaries have since died without getting their rightful share of the land and asked President William Ruto to initiate the issuance of title deeds for the squatters.
Daniel Gitau, a 60-year-old squatter who has been living in the area since 1995, accuses rich cartels of harassing and frustrating the squatters’ leaders by having them arrested on trumped-up charges.
He said the squatters were experiencing a lot of hardships and asked the government to come to their rescue.
Hannah Wanjiru, aged 43 years, expressed her concern, stating that she is worried because she buried her mother and child in unmarked graves. She is urging the government to address the issue of squatters urgently.
“Our future looks bleak, we now look up to God and the President to rescue us. President Ruto, please hear our cry,” Wanjiru pleaded.
Eliud Kimani, who was born and brought up in the area, said the squatters should receive justice by being settled there.
The late former President Daniel Arap Moi had ordered the clearing of Kamiti Forest in 1994 and allocated it to squatters working in local coffee plantations and surrounding communities.
Three decades later, the area has yet to be degazetted as a forest, although all the trees were cut down, and people began tilling the land and even putting up dwelling and commercial structures.
