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Post by adongo23456 on Dec 11, 2010 4:06:32 GMT 3
job,You raise big questions for the Minister of Lands, Hon. Jams Orengo in terms of the procurement system if any that applied to the Kionange occupied land in Narok being allegedly bought to settle IDPs from the 2007 PEV. I think the minister owes Kenyans an explanation for that. James Orengo, the minister of lands needs to tell Kenyans a few things. 1. It is true that 2,400 acres of land belonging to the Koinanges has been bought by the Kenyan government to settle IDPs in Narok? 2. If so, what has been the role of the ministry of lands in the process? 3. Is the ministry of lands aware (unless they have been in mars they should be) that there are huge and ongoing land disputes in Narok and particularly in the land in question? 4. Is the ministry of land aware that the alleged purchase of land to settle IDPs in this particular situation involves land whose ownership is in dispute? If so, what is the justification for going ahead with the purchase? Those are questions you have raised and Hon. James Orengo owes the country an explanation and a position that the government he serves as the minister of lands has taken in addressing those very grave concerns. I support you on that. That said I think there is one dilemma for the minister of lands. The issue here is about historical injustices in land grabbing. These were parcels of land grabbed right after independence when President Kenyatta and his cabal used to roam the countryside looking for nice pieces of land and simply ordering the "owners" to hand them over to you know who. Never mind that those were stolen pieces of land by white settlers. "Thief from Thief Make God Happy". That is a Jamaican saying. Aha. May be not this time. That was the beginning of the land screw up in Kenya and look how many lives it has cost, how many "tribal and ethnic" clashes and how much trouble we still have to solve it? Let's face it. If we can't solve the land problem in Kenya even the time bomb we are sitting on will get mad with us because it wants to blow up and get it over with, whichever way it goes. There is only so much time you can hold explosive gas inside! It is bound to come out, unless it is diffused. But here is the problem, the ministry of lands cannot reclaim those lands. That will be the responsibility of the yet to be formed Kenya Land Commission.The minister of lands can repossess outrightly grabbed land and property like Orengo has been doing. In the last week alone there were 345 title deeds repossessed and handed over to public control. Not a single one of the grabbers have complained. Orengo is actually saving them jail time which they could serve if convicted as land thieves. My sense is that the Maasai Narok land conflict will be the starting point of addressing historical injustices on land theft and displacement of whole communities rendered as squatters by the colonial government right from 1896 in their own lands and later by the neo-colonial inheritors of the colonial system in Kenya. This Maasai land case in Narok is just one in a million cases. It is going to be battle royale. The nation is ready for that. But here is the Maasai Community Partnership Project that kaitlin talked about. Prof. Dapash features there very prominently. Read on. maasaicpp.org/about-us/
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Post by adongo23456 on Dec 11, 2010 8:19:56 GMT 3
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Post by adongo23456 on Dec 11, 2010 15:37:11 GMT 3
A good piece on the Mau Narok land saga and the killing of land rights activist Moses Mpoe. - Family members mourn during the burial of land activist Moses Mpoe. www.standardmedia.co.ke/InsidePage.php?id=2000024439&cid=4&ttl=Colonial%20land%20treaty%20at%20the%20heart%20of%20Maasai%20land%20trouble Colonial land treaty at the heart of Maasai land trouble
Updated 15 hr(s) 5 min(s) ago By Kipchumba Kemei A 1902 treaty between the British Government and Maasai elders has returned to haunt the community more than a century after it was signed. The Maasai community once again finds itself at loggerheads with the Government following the purchase of 2,400-acre farm in Mau Narok to resettle 915 internally displaced families. The community says the land belonged to them before some powerful individuals in the late President Jomo Kenyatta’s administration grabbed it. The current Constitution, they argue, supports their claim on the land.In the past month, there have been protests in the area with the community leaders claiming the Government did not consult them before it bought the parcel of land from a wheat farmer. The matter has been complicated further following the killing of land rights activists Moses ole Mpoe and Paraaiya Punyua in Nakuru last weekend.The two, who have been in the forefront in championing the return of land that the community feels belongs to them, was murdered when a gun man opened fire at his vehicle, killing him and another occupant. The police have described the attack a criminal act. So far five suspects have been arraigned in court in connection with the incident. Local leaders have linked the incident to the resistance by the community to resettle IDPs on the land. Mpoe’s killing is one of the many land-related incidents the community members have seen.Incitement charge The standoff between the State and the community is reminiscent of 1995 when Ndabibi and Oljorai ADC farms, which Maasai claimed belonged to them, was allocated to influential people in President Moi’s regime. Police were forced to shoot at herdsmen who invaded the farms in protest, killing their livestock. Their leaders, who included councillors, were arrested and charged with incitement. In 2004, the community was at war with the Government after it extended land leases, which were then expiring from 99 to 999 years.The community members were almost uncorking champagne to celebrate the fact that most of the lands in Narok, Samburu and Laikipia, which it claims were illegally taken away from them, will revert to them. Their hopes were however dashed when the then Lands Minister Amos Kimunya unilaterally extended the leases from 99 to 999 years[/b].
The community termed the move regrettable and it has since been trying to challenge the action, says Charles Sena, a Narok human rights lawyer. The struggle against land injustices in Maasai land began in 1902 when the community elders (Oloibon) led by Olenana signed a treaty with the British colonialists.
The treaty allowed the colonialists to take over the highlands for commercial farming. According to documents, in 1907 the colonial administration took some 30, 000 acres of land in Narok and the neighbouring Mau Narok area.
"The huge chunk of the land was in Narok District," said US-based Prof Meitamei ole Dapash in a recent interview.
Dapash, who is also the director of Maasai Community Partnership Project and an architect of what is commonly referred to as ‘Return Our Land Crusade’, says land injustices in the Maasai land must be addressed.
"The Government must understand that we have landless people among the Maasai. And the land they are resettling IDPs on is the subject of a court case we have filed," argues Dapash.
He says if the Government was keen on helping the families uprooted from their homes during the post-election violence, it should have offered them security to return to the land they left.
Community’s desire
On many occasions, Heritage Minister William ole Ntimama has stated the community’s desire to have all the land taken away from them returned.
"The Maasai will not rest until all the land that was fraudulently taken away is handed back to them. This is what consists of historical injustices," he says.
The minister shares Dapash’s sentiments that the community, too, has squatters who were evicted to pave way for British occupation.
On the contentious 2, 240 acres of land the Government has bought for resettlement of the IDP, Dapash, faults the Attorney General’s office for not properly advising the Government.
"Wako failed as the Government chief legal advisor. He knew there was a legal issue surrounding the ownership of parcels of land in Mau Narok, but he did not advise against buying it," he adds.
He argues all the parcels of lands were on lease and the Government must have overlooked certain aspects before buying. The chairman of the Narok County Maasai Elders Talengo Kiptunen says the community should have been consulted before the decision was made. He adds that no amount of intimidation will make the community lose it focus on past historical injustices.
"There is no need of stationing policemen to guard this farm. They will not stay there forever. What was needed before the Government bought the land was dialogue," says Kiptunen.
Kiptunen further argues that in the new Constitution, on the expiry of the lease, the land would be community land under the county. Besides pressuring the three successive governments to help them reclaim it, the community has even tried to buy some of the land from the current owners. In early 1990s, according to the records availed to us, Narok County Council wanted to buy a parcel of land from one Dave Mwangi but the negotiations flopped.
"The council could have bought it but when we had finished negotiations and a cheque written, the deal was cancelled because of political interference," says Davies Tamoo, who was then the council administrator and now the co-ordinator of Narok Human Rights Network.
Tamoo says he was the one who was to deliver the cheque to the owner who was then living in Nyeri.
He blames a certain powerful politician for the failure of the deal, which could have seen the council increase its revenue base through sheep rearing.
Council revenue
"The land could have been used for the purposes, which could have seen the council revenue boosted. Had the deal gone through, the current controversy would not have been there," says former Narok County Council chairman Shadrack Rotiken, who was at the helm of the civic body during negotiations.
"What is now remaining is for members of the community to address the issue through the Truth Justice and Reconciliation Commission (TJRC). They should come forward and record statements and hopefully the matter would one day be resolved," says Tamoo, who is also the local TJRC statement-taking co-ordinator.
Ntimama, the Narok North MP who has condemned Mpoe’s killing linking it with the land issue, recently told the community not to allow people to grab what was originally their land. However, the Government has maintained that it bought the land on a willing-buyer-willing seller basis.
Rift Valley PC Osman Warfa last week told a news conference in Nakuru the State would continue with the resettlement despite opposition.
"The State has already resettled 1, 500 people on the 2, 240 acres of land that it bought from a farmer, Mr Stephen Rose," says the administrator.
He says it is wrong for people to think that IDPs were from one community and to try to disrupt the resettlement. He says investigations have confirmed the murder of the two activists had nothing to do with the resettlement of IDPs in Narok.
He reveals that the murder has been linked to the Muthera farm, owned by former Cabinet minister Mbiyu Koinange, where the deceased was the manager. Warfa says there was a dispute over the management of the farm after family members differed over who would run it.
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Post by politicalmaniac on Dec 11, 2010 19:29:39 GMT 3
Oh man and where is the Ndungu land report?
jomo snr got the land grabbing ball rolling and if this issue is not sorted out, there will never be peace in certain sections of the country.
And once again I ask jsut what is the role the triple K alliance will play in sorting out this very thorny problem when one of them is the scion of the land grabber in chief?
What a joke!
No wonder the "elders" are continously trying to feed him the mantle of tribal head but it just wont go down. He keeps regurgitating it, and now with Ocampo beckoning and asking about Naivasha I hope this inept good for nothing land grabbing fellow just gets the heck out of our lives.
Karma is a b#$i@tch! His old man stole and grqabbed and in the attempts to keep their illicit gains look at what is happening. The other day his mum when confronted by the Press and asked if she would give land to the IDPs just shrunk away from the camera and cowardly retreated away from the cameras in shock!
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Post by Daktari wa makazi on Dec 12, 2010 10:09:40 GMT 3
We all agree 1. the Maasais have a right to their land. 2. that the land was taken from them fraudulently, 3. that they have filed cases to 'reclaim' that land. Now, we need to understand the conundrum that is dispute in land ownership in Kenya. The genesis is that not all pieces of land are registered. I bet the Maasai land in Narok falls in unregistered category. The claim of the Maasai’s may be difficult to sustain because if the land is unregistered, they do not therefore have title deed for it, and their rights to ownership is not obvious. The Koinanges may have acquired the title deed after demarcating and registering the land. Considering that Mbiyu Koinange was Jomo Kenyatta right hand man that was not a difficult task for him. The wheat farmer who bought the land from the Koinanages may have acquired land with title deed which he had no way of knowing that it had been fraudulently acquired. That is the dilemma facing the courts when adjudicating land ownership dispute. The notion of buying ‘stolen property’ does not come into play, here. When you buy stolen car, for instance, you are expected to check registration documentations, things like log-books, et cetera, and if need be consult the Motor Vehicle Registration Department before you buy a car. The same cannot be said of unregistered land. The Maasai land ownership will, I think, be like the Endorois of Bogoria who had to go to the African Courts of Human Rights to claim their rightful land. The only difference here is that the Endorois suffered on the hands of the Kenyan Gov’t, while the Maasais seem to be conned by individuals perhaps using the Government machinery. And, therefore, the Maasai’s will be expected to take their ownership dispute to Court as it is civil matter. Where such dispute is filed in Courts, usually the claimant will ask the Court to place a ‘charge’ on the title of the property until the dispute is settled. The ‘charge’ is a warning about the court dispute on the ownership. www.hrw.org/en/news/2010/02/04/kenya-landmark-ruling-indigenous-land-rightsThe Govt buys land to resettle landless people and has a department in the Ministry of Land called Land Adjudication and Settlement under the Director Esther N Ogega. Furthermore, the Land Ministry also oversees Trust in Land for Communal lands, like the land the Maasai’s are claiming. It also resettled landless people after acquiring land from commercial land owners. The Land Registration is done by the Land Ministry. All in all, the Ministry of Land was deeply involved in the acquisition of the land now in dispute because their remit encompasses all of the disputed regimes, and the fault of buying land under legal dispute falls squarely on them. www.land.go.keThe attorney general advises the govt. The dispute between the Maasais’ and the Koinanages, and later the Stephen Rose, the wheat farmer, was civil matter, not involving the gov’t. How, then, I wonder would the attorney general know about the court dispute, if he and the gov’t were not litigants? Having said that, I submit, the land, being a huge track, was given to Koinananges on lease, as the gov’t remains the freeholder. When the lease was transferred to Stephen Rose, I assume the dispute was in courts having started in 1964. Stephen Rose’s sale to the Ministry of Land should have revealed the ‘charge’ on its title as a warning that ownership dispute was in courts. Why did the Ministry of Land ignore that warning? Orengo must explain.
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Post by adongo23456 on Dec 12, 2010 20:18:21 GMT 3
Sadik,
If we go by your argument that the land that the Maasai community is fighting for in Mau Narok is "unregistered" then how come someone is "owning" it and selling part of it to the government to settle IDPs? How can one sell unregistered land. I mean people like the assassinated Moses Mpoe have been working in the expansive wheat farms that straddle the land. Are you suggesting someone has wheat plantations in "unregistered" land?
Secondly you opine that the Maasai will have a hard time in court fighting for the land because they do not have a title deed. If they had a title deed for the land why on earth would they be fighting for the land? They would be occupying it.
Third, the Maasais have not been conned by individuals as you suggest. Yes individuals, including the Koinange family occupy the land but the real culprits are the Kenyan government.
It goes back to what happened after Kenya attained national independence some 47 odd years ago. At that point if we had a genuine and honest government the Mau Narok land should have been reverted to the Maasai community.
The wakoloni occupation was over but instead of the Kenyan government handing over the land to the Maasai community it was grabbed by the Kenyatta boys including the Mbiyu Koinange family. Mbiyu Koinange as we all know was Kenyatta's right hand man.
The issue now is the Maasai community is saying the colonial government took their land, the colonials have left and new land grabbers have been sitting on their land for 47 years. They want their land back. That is the issue.
If you go back to the beginning of this thread job outlined that very well. You can also check the website of Maasai Community Partnership Project. Better still, just read the very well written story from the Standard which precedes your post. It explains everything very thoroughly. Let's get the basic facts straight instead of mixing everything up.
No, this is not a simple civil suit kind of matter. This is a political matter. This is an issue of land grabbing by political elites. This is about disenfranchising communities off their land. The courts will be involved in this matter. The yet to be formed National Land Commission will be involved in this matter. The TJRC will be involved in this matter. It is just one out of very many such problems. This is serious business.
adongo
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Post by politicalmaniac on Dec 13, 2010 6:24:23 GMT 3
No, this is not a simple civil suit kind of matter. This is a political matter. This is an issue of land grabbing by political elites. adongo That is why political pressure from the landless Maasais will eventually bear fruit. And thats is why the Ndungu land commission was established to try and act as a relief pressure valve to identify just who has which land parcels and how they got them. Unfortunately the mafiya have sat on it. The late Mpoe was beginning to shine some sunlight onto the issue but unfortunately the land barons did him in thinking that would be the end of the saga. But it wont Instead the late Mpoe now acts as a catalyst for change while he is 6ft under. Sunlight is the best disinfectant, but the mafiya as usual love the darkness where they operate with impunity. Its how they executed the raid on EAS offices, its how they stole elections at KICC with brief moments of power outages
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Post by job on Dec 13, 2010 20:17:48 GMT 3
Now Prof. Dapash's life is also in dangerThe Maasai scholar said that unknown people trailed his car on Sunday night barely two days after the death of Mpoe and expressed fears that his life was in danger.
“A suspicious Land Rover car trailed us on Sunday night but lost direction and remained at a hidden place around my home for sometime before it drove away, a clear indication that my life is threatened,” said the US based scholar.read more www.galdu.org/web/?odas=4991&giella1=eng
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Post by roughrider on Dec 14, 2010 16:00:52 GMT 3
It is unfortunate that the landed aristocrats are resorting to these deadly tactics.This latest shooting reminds me of the reckless and wanton killings by another land baron, Tom Cholmondley Delamere who murdered two people and was sent back to hunt in Naivasha with a small pat on the back.
I also still remember the saga of hapless Maasai being shot by police gunship helicopters at Mau Narok under Mzee Kibaki's watch.
I want to reiterate two quick points.
1. As from 27th of August all foreign ownership of freehold land reverted to the government and all 999 leasehold land was commuted to 99 year lease - many of which were transacted in the 1900's and have therefore lapsed. We must say a lot of this land is Maasai community land. James Orengo and the Ministry of Lands must move very quickly to effect this law in practical terms and eject those who still sit on land whose leases are now legally void.
2. The constitution now expressly recognizes 'community ancestral lands'. We would like the National Land Commission to be set up as a matter of urgency to help give effect to these constitutional protections.
3. We must say that there are no genuine IDP's left: just a bunch of enterprising, mostly Kikuyu speculators intent on an ethnically-motivated payday from the Kikuyu led government of Mwai Kibaki.
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Post by gachquota on Dec 14, 2010 16:54:40 GMT 3
No, this is not a simple civil suit kind of matter. This is a political matter. This is an issue of land grabbing by political elites. adongo That is why political pressure from the landless Maasais will eventually bear fruit. And thats is why the Ndungu land commission was established to try and act as a relief pressure valve to identify just who has which land parcels and how they got them. Unfortunately the mafiya have sat on it. The late Mpoe was beginning to shine some sunlight onto the issue but unfortunately the land barons did him in thinking that would be the end of the saga. But it wont Instead the late Mpoe now acts as a catalyst for change while he is 6ft under. Sunlight is the best disinfectant, but the mafiya as usual love the darkness where they operate with impunity. Its how they executed the raid on EAS offices, its how they stole elections at KICC with brief moments of power outages pm Well said this will not die until the maasai got what is rightfully theirs .
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Post by job on Dec 17, 2010 22:40:01 GMT 3
Former minister’s son held in land activist killing case
By Saturday Nation correspondents Posted Friday, December 17 2010 at 21:00
Police in Nakuru are holding the son of former Internal Security minister Mbiyu Koinange in connection with the killing of two Masaai land activists.
Mr David Njuno was arrested in Nairobi on Thursday and handed over to investigators in Nakuru where he recorded a statement Friday morning.
Three other suspects
Mr Njuno was questioned for more than four hours by investigators led by Nakuru CID boss Abdi Salat.
“Mr Njuno is with us and is recording statements. After that, we will address the press,” said Mr Salat.
Family member who flocked to the CID headquarters declined to comment on the matter, referring questions to their lawyer.
Mr Njuno’s arrest comes barely a day after three other suspects were arraigned in court to answer charges of killing Mr Moses Mpoe and Mr Parsayia Kitu ole Punyua on December 3 at the Njoro-Nakuru junction.
The three, Mr Nicholas Ng’etich, Mr Johnston Kipkurui and Mr Stephen Mwanzia denied murder charges when they appeared before Nakuru High Court judge Mr Justice William Ouko.
The prosecution managed to prefer charges against the three despite an application by the lawyer of the accused Mr Gordon Ogola for a postponement of the plea taking.
Mr Ogola said refusal to postpone the taking of pleas would violate his clients’ constitutional rights.
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Post by job on Dec 24, 2010 7:40:40 GMT 3
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Post by kamalet on Dec 24, 2010 11:14:07 GMT 3
Sorry to ask this but it needs to be asked.
This Mpoe guy now being mourned as a matyr for the Maasais who fought for their land could after all be a fake!
For many years, Mpoe worked as a farm nyapara for the Koinange's on the same farm this thread seems to have devoted its attention to! It was not until he was sacked that he became an activist for the squatters that were living on the farm and he became even louder when the farm was allegedly sold to the government!
These were the allegations made against him in an affidavit sworn before the high court by one of the Koinange family members applying for anticipatory bail.
If this is indeed true (and I think the farm manager story has been repeated in the media) then it is patently dishonest for anyone to call Mpoe an activist for maasai land rights if he never had a problem working on the farm and only got angry when he was sacked!
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Post by job on Dec 24, 2010 17:38:53 GMT 3
Sorry to ask this but it needs to be asked.
This Mpoe guy now being mourned as a matyr for the Maasais who fought for their land could after all be a fake!
For many years, Mpoe worked as a farm nyapara for the Koinange's on the same farm this thread seems to have devoted its attention to! It was not until he was sacked that he became an activist for the squatters that were living on the farm and he became even louder when the farm was allegedly sold to the government!
These were the allegations made against him in an affidavit sworn before the high court by one of the Koinange family members applying for anticipatory bail.
1) The only fake - as you yourself confessed here in JUKWAA - are the fake IDPs being resettled on this Maasai ancestral land by Esther Murugi.
Ole Mpoe has been a Maasai land rights activist for many years even before he became a manager at the Koinange farm - a fact known to most Maasai squatters in Mau Narok. Check the NGO link I provided in the thread above.2) In 2000 and 2001, Mpoe was involved in a failed attempt to negotiate for private transfers of parcels of Mau Narok land belonging to the Koinange family, the Nyachae family, and the White Settler Mr. Ross, to Maasai 'squatters' occupying them. After the failure, Mpoe and other activists started preparing for a court challenge - to use legal means on grounds of historic injustice.3) Long before 2008, Mpoe was able to politely convince part of the Koinange family to consider transfering of a portion of "their" land (where he worked) to Maasai squatters already occupying it. The Maasai lobbying was causing some discomfort to some members of the Koinange family. This caused a rift within the family, with other members vehemently opposing any land transfer to Maasai squatters.4) 2007/8 PEV opened up a huge opportunity for the Koinange family (& other land grabbers) to sell their land at exorbitant prices to the government. 5) When Ole Mpoe got wind of the plans, he alerted the Maasai community - who themselves were still hoping to be settled on this land. If the wheat farm was to be wound up (for IDP resettlement purposes), Mpoe himself foresaw losing his job. Naturally, for both reasons, he went a notch higher in mobilizing his community to support the Maasai case on historic injustice, already in court.6) Part of the Koinange family, led by Mbiyu's widow & son Kihara (the murderer of Mpoe), sacked Mpoe. But Mpoe, supported by the other half of the family, challenged the sacking in court.7) Mbiyus widow & her son Kihara (eager to quickly profit from selling the land to government - for almost a billion shillings) , colluding with Molo MP (wheat farmer also interested in a portion of the land) and the Provincial Administration (tasked with resettling IDPs on the land) figured out the land deal would ensue smoothly if Ole Mpoe was "taken out".8) The above lot conspired to assassinate Ole Mpoe and the latter's kin. Mpoe's brother still lays in hospital with bullets lodged in his brain as the Special Program's Minister Esther Murugi insists "IDPs will be resettled here mpende msipende!." They have started settling the fake IDPs (as per your word) on the neighbouring Ross farm. Next will be on this "Koinange farm" then "Nyachae farm".Do yourself a favour by conducting some due diligence on the history of this land. Ownership of this land does not begin with the Koinange grabbing in the Kenyatta era. Neither does an affidavit filed by an assassin hold as gospel truth. Mpoe was a Maasai land activist even before hiring by the Koinanges. Mpoe's Maasai family was living on the same land when the White settler Mrs Cobb transfered it back to the Maasai after independence. Koinange just butted in with his grabbing, but did not kick the Maasai out. Koinange merely baptised these Maasai (ocupying their own ancestral land) as squatters.It is the Kibaki administration (& Murugi) who want to now kick the Maasai out, and settle in fake IDPs - a very myopic, reckless and irresponsible thing. Some people never seem to learn. Why do some people keep creating problems that we are now trying to solve through Kofi Annan's Agenda 4 prescriptions?
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Post by job on Dec 26, 2010 17:53:22 GMT 3
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Post by job on Dec 26, 2010 18:33:09 GMT 3
Kalonzo Musyoka dabbling into this controversy - pretending to be an IDP super-hero.
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Post by ebarasi on Dec 26, 2010 21:13:12 GMT 3
Kalonzo Musyoka dabbling into this controversy - pretending to be an IDP super-hero. Job, As we said earlier in this thread, this question is not just going to melt away. There are fundamental issues to do with land that must be addressed correctly. Esther Murugi will one day rue those emotional and idiotic words "Wapende, wasipende". Does Ms Murugi truly believe that the Maasai have no grievance worth listening to? Or is it so that in her mind these IDPs have a higher worth/value than the aggrieved Maa? As for Kalonzo, he is a deeply troubled man. He did not add or bring anything new to this debate other than reinforce the attempts of government or sections of it to impose a decision on the Maasai.
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Post by kamalet on Dec 27, 2010 9:18:20 GMT 3
Sorry to ask this but it needs to be asked.
This Mpoe guy now being mourned as a matyr for the Maasais who fought for their land could after all be a fake!
For many years, Mpoe worked as a farm nyapara for the Koinange's on the same farm this thread seems to have devoted its attention to! It was not until he was sacked that he became an activist for the squatters that were living on the farm and he became even louder when the farm was allegedly sold to the government!
These were the allegations made against him in an affidavit sworn before the high court by one of the Koinange family members applying for anticipatory bail.
1) The only fake - as you yourself confessed here in JUKWAA - are the fake IDPs being resettled on this Maasai ancestral land by Esther Murugi.
Ole Mpoe has been a Maasai land rights activist for many years even before he became a manager at the Koinange farm - a fact known to most Maasai squatters in Mau Narok. Check the NGO link I provided in the thread above.2) In 2000 and 2001, Mpoe was involved in a failed attempt to negotiate for private transfers of parcels of Mau Narok land belonging to the Koinange family, the Nyachae family, and the White Settler Mr. Ross, to Maasai 'squatters' occupying them. After the failure, Mpoe and other activists started preparing for a court challenge - to use legal means on grounds of historic injustice.3) Long before 2008, Mpoe was able to politely convince part of the Koinange family to consider transfering of a portion of "their" land (where he worked) to Maasai squatters already occupying it. The Maasai lobbying was causing some discomfort to some members of the Koinange family. This caused a rift within the family, with other members vehemently opposing any land transfer to Maasai squatters.4) 2007/8 PEV opened up a huge opportunity for the Koinange family (& other land grabbers) to sell their land at exorbitant prices to the government. 5) When Ole Mpoe got wind of the plans, he alerted the Maasai community - who themselves were still hoping to be settled on this land. If the wheat farm was to be wound up (for IDP resettlement purposes), Mpoe himself foresaw losing his job. Naturally, for both reasons, he went a notch higher in mobilizing his community to support the Maasai case on historic injustice, already in court.6) Part of the Koinange family, led by Mbiyu's widow & son Kihara (the murderer of Mpoe), sacked Mpoe. But Mpoe, supported by the other half of the family, challenged the sacking in court.7) Mbiyus widow & her son Kihara (eager to quickly profit from selling the land to government - for almost a billion shillings) , colluding with Molo MP (wheat farmer also interested in a portion of the land) and the Provincial Administration (tasked with resettling IDPs on the land) figured out the land deal would ensue smoothly if Ole Mpoe was "taken out".8) The above lot conspired to assassinate Ole Mpoe and the latter's kin. Mpoe's brother still lays in hospital with bullets lodged in his brain as the Special Program's Minister Esther Murugi insists "IDPs will be resettled here mpende msipende!." They have started settling the fake IDPs (as per your word) on the neighbouring Ross farm. Next will be on this "Koinange farm" then "Nyachae farm".Do yourself a favour by conducting some due diligence on the history of this land. Ownership of this land does not begin with the Koinange grabbing in the Kenyatta era. Neither does an affidavit filed by an assassin hold as gospel truth. Mpoe was a Maasai land activist even before hiring by the Koinanges. Mpoe's Maasai family was living on the same land when the White settler Mrs Cobb transfered it back to the Maasai after independence. Koinange just butted in with his grabbing, but did not kick the Maasai out. Koinange merely baptised these Maasai (ocupying their own ancestral land) as squatters.It is the Kibaki administration (& Murugi) who want to now kick the Maasai out, and settle in fake IDPs - a very myopic, reckless and irresponsible thing. Some people never seem to learn. Why do some people keep creating problems that we are now trying to solve through Kofi Annan's Agenda 4 prescriptions?Job You miss the point completely! All I am suggesting is that Mpoe cannot claim to be an activist against his own employers who pay his bills and the employer only becomes the devil when he is sacked! It is like claiming that Opiyo of Special Branch fame would have been an activist for democracy when he served the Moi governmnet and only went a notch higher after being sacked by Moi! My take is that Mpoe only becomes a hero for the reason he was fighting the Koinange's whose land had been acquired by the government for settlement of IDPs.
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Post by owuor on Dec 27, 2010 17:05:17 GMT 3
In Kenya, anyone opposing anything is an activist Kamale. Even former university leaders who led strikes and stoned cars along uhuru highway and thika road are heroes in their small worlds. Ask those seeking economic asylum abroad and they all have stories to tell of how they fought for this and that. Heck, Owuor is also an e-activist fighting the bad guys online...catch the drift??
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Post by adongo23456 on Dec 27, 2010 18:09:54 GMT 3
In Kenya, anyone opposing anything is an activist Kamale. Even former university leaders who led strikes and stoned cars along uhuru highway and thika road are heroes in their small worlds. Ask those seeking economic asylum abroad and they all have stories to tell of how they fought for this and that. Heck, Owuor is also an e-activist fighting the bad guys online...catch the drift?? buda,wacha fitina, bwana. Worry about yourself. I was telling some students that I teach as part of my work that people have a right to be nasty, rude and even stupid. There is no law anywhere in the world that prohibits such common human traits. The students learning to be managers wanted to know what to do when people are just nasty and ridiculous. May be those students were talking about you. aha? Anyway, just so you know, I told the students that their job as human resource managers is not to stop people from being stupid. Their job is to get the best out of those they manage despite all their limitations which may very well include being idiots. I also told them those kind of folks are kind of in the minority. Listen, the Kenyan history is moving forward. Those who want to spectate and/or may be have been spectators all their lives are free to do so. May that is all they can do. It is not a sin my friend. OK? Good. Let those with guts and a little courage like Mr. Mpoe do their work. It is people like them who shape history and make the world and win the liberties even cowards enjoy without a sense of shame. People here are talking about a huge issue of land rights in Kenya and it is fine if you have nothing to say. Keeping quiet might be a better option, but you are welcome to act silly. It is part of the entertainment here in jukwaa. I told a friend the other day that the world would be extremely boring if we didn't have so many fools and didn't make fools of ourselves from time to time. So you are welcome. kazi inaendelea. adongo
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Post by ebarasi on Dec 27, 2010 18:59:42 GMT 3
In Kenya, anyone opposing anything is an activist Kamale. Even former university leaders who led strikes and stoned cars along uhuru highway and thika road are heroes in their small worlds. Ask those seeking economic asylum abroad and they all have stories to tell of how they fought for this and that. Heck, Owuor is also an e-activist fighting the bad guys online...catch the drift?? Owuor, not all tomatoes in a sack are fresh. But we need not throw away the whole sack because of a few rotten ones. Anyone who knows what a tomato smells like and tastes like will know the difference. If all Kenyans consider themselves activists, whats wrong with that? After all isn't Kenya changing in all aspects of its life? So instead of trying to put out the little light in others lives why don't you let a little light shine in yours instead?
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Post by job on Jan 2, 2011 3:02:42 GMT 3
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Post by mzee on Jan 2, 2011 9:12:11 GMT 3
I want to be blunt here. The illegal occupation of land in the former Rift Valley Province by kikuyus is one of the the reasons that caused PEV in 2007/2008. Where were these IDPs who are to be settled in Masaai land living prior to 2007? Why cant Kibaki and Murungi help them back to the land from which they were evicted? Its crazy
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Post by kamalet on Jan 2, 2011 20:12:50 GMT 3
I want to be blunt here. The illegal occupation of land in the former Rift Valley Province by kikuyus is one of the the reasons that caused PEV in 2007/2008. Where were these IDPs who are to be settled in Masaai land living prior to 2007? Why cant Kibaki and Murungi help them back to the land from which they were evicted? Its crazy There is a difference between being blunt and being silly. You cannot make a general statement about kikuyus being illegal occupiers of land in the RV. If you know thieves, they did not steal in the name of kikuyus but in their own names. My family in the RV, we are kikuyus and have proof of purchase. Does that make us illegal occupiers?
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Post by adongo23456 on Jan 2, 2011 20:31:11 GMT 3
Kamale.This thing has come full circle. Esther Murugi said Kenyans have a right to own land and live anywhere in the country. I agree with her 100%. That is the law of the land. So why not just take the IDPs to the land they previously owned and settle them there and have the security to ensure they are not attacked. Isn't that what the law says? Why take them to Mau Narok, where they never owned any land before? Now if these are regular landless people, which is very likely the case, then let's deal with the whole problem. They are not the only landless people in Kenya. There are millions of them. But here is the story. This whole land purchase from the Koinanges is falling apart. If they already have the money, they better send it back. This is a dead deal. www.nation.co.ke/News/IDPs%20express%20fears%20over%20disputed%20Narok%20land/-/1056/1081824/-/gyixed/-/index.html
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