About 13, 000 squatters living at the expansive 5,800 acres of land belonging to former Provincial Commissioner (PC) Isaiah Cheluget in Sagamian ward, Narok County can breathe a sigh of relief as the government completes the process of title deeds issuance.
Narok Governor Patrick Ntutu assured the residents that the land negotiations with the family of the late Cheluget had been completed and currently, officials from the Land’s office are camping in the area to get records of the individual’s land ownership.
“Everybody will be given where they have been living. No one will be removed from their farms and no one will benefit from what is not theirs. The title deeds will be given to the size of land you are currently occupying,” stated the governor.
Ntutu, who spoke at Lower Sagamian Secondary School during a development tour in the area, asked the residents to be patient as the government completes the process, promising that no genuine beneficiary would be left out.
He thanked the Cheluget family for agreeing to sell the land to the government, saying they had held several meetings with the Land Principal Secretary (PS), Director for Settlement and the Cheluget family before they came to a common stand.
The governor reiterated that President William Ruto would preside over the title deed issuance before the end of the year.
The function was attended by Emurua Dikirr Member of Parliament Johanah Ngeno, who thanked the President for the move to resettle the squatters as they had lived on the land for over 15 years.
Cheluget served as a PC under late President Daniel Arap Moi and was allocated the 5, 800 acres in 1974. He died on June 26, 2017, at Aga Khan Hospital in Kisumu and was buried at his home in Litein, Kericho County.
The family of Cheluget had earlier indicated that their father had reached out to the government to seek for a peaceful and amicable solution on the land but passed on before its actualization.
By Ann Salaton
