- Kishushe residents are demanding fresh adjudication of 18,000 acres, citing alleged irregularities and inadequate public participation.
- Cooperative officials have raised concerns over alleged large land allocations to political leaders, with Wundanyi MP Danson Mwashako disputing claims against him.
- Residents want transparent land distribution, protection of community interests and dialogue between national and county governments to resolve the dispute.
Residents of Kishushe in Taita Taveta County have called for a fresh land adjudication process covering an 18,000-acre parcel in Kishushe B, alleging irregularities, lack of public participation and unequal allocation of land intended for the local community.
Leaders of Kishushe Ranching Cooperative Society Limited said the ongoing process had failed to involve residents adequately and demanded the intervention of the Ministry of Lands to ensure that the land, which they said was part of the former Kishushe Ranch, was distributed fairly among eligible community members.
Speaking during a press briefing, the leaders said they supported the government’s Rapid Response Initiative (RRI) on land matters but opposed what they described as irregularities in the implementation of the adjudication process in Kishushe B.
Wilfred Mwalimo, the society’s secretary and a resident of Kishushe, said the dispute had persisted for years, with concerns emerging over the criteria used to determine individual land allocations.
“This is what we are saying. The Kishushe B adjudication must start afresh because there is fraud that is going on in the process of land adjudication,” he said.
Mwalimo said residents drawn from five zones in Taita sub-county had not been adequately consulted and were unaware of the principles guiding the distribution of the 18,000 acres.
He alleged that some politicians had acquired disproportionately large portions of the land while young people from the community remained landless.
“We are aware that there are some politicians who have large tracts of land inside the 18,000 acres. How can a politician acquire 2,000 and 1,000 acres of land when there are youths from this community who don’t have land?” he posed.
The allegations were also raised by Mwashinga Mjomba, the cooperative society’s supervisory chairman, who called on the national government to review the team overseeing the adjudication exercise.
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Mjomba alleged that Senator Johnes Mwaruma had approximately 2,000 acres in the disputed parcel, while Wundanyi MP Danson Mwashako had about 1,000 acres. He further claimed that several members of county assemblies and the area chief also had substantial allocations.
Mwashako denied the allegation that he owned 1,000 acres of land within the disputed parcel, challenging those making the claims to provide evidence to support their assertions.
The Wundanyi MP acknowledged owning 70 acres in the area but said the land was legally acquired through a purchase from a local family whose members, he maintained, could be traced.
“The allegation that I own 1,000 acres is not true. Whoever is making that claim should come forward and prove it. I only own 70 acres, which I bought from a family in the area, and that family is available and can be traced,” Mwashako said.
He maintained that his ownership of the 70 acres should not be confused with the allegations of large-scale land acquisition raised by the cooperative officials, arguing that purchasing land from an identifiable family was not, in itself, illegal.
“The only piece of land that I have is the one that I bought from a family which is there and can be traced. Unless buying land from someone is illegal, then one should be clear,” he said.
Mwashako’s response addressed the allegation concerning his ownership of 1,000 acres. The separate allegation that Senator Mwaruma owns approximately 2,000 acres was raised during the briefing, but a response from the senator was not available at the time of publication. The claims concerning the landholdings of other leaders could not be independently verified.
The cooperative officials accused local administrators of presiding over an opaque process and called for changes to the team handling the exercise, arguing that some officers had served in the area for too long.
Mwalimo specifically appealed to Lands Principal Secretary Nixon Korir to order a fresh adjudication of the 18,000-acre parcel. He also urged Taita Taveta Governor Andrew Mwadime to convene an urgent consultative meeting involving the national and county governments, local administrators and other stakeholders.
He said the community was not opposed to land adjudication or leaders owning property in Kishushe, provided the allocation followed an equitable process.
“What we are saying is, we need equity. If the acreage is 18,000, let it be shared equally. It doesn’t matter whether you are a governor, MCA or President,” he said.
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Mwalimo added that residents wanted the land properly planned to accommodate essential public services, including hospitals, schools and roads, as well as the area’s expanding economic activities.
The government’s coastal land initiative seeks to address longstanding land tenure challenges through adjudication, settlement and the issuance of ownership documents. However, the Kishushe residents said the programme’s objectives would be undermined if allocation decisions were made without transparency and meaningful community participation.
The dispute also carries economic implications because of mining activities in the area. Mwalimo said the community wanted legitimate mineral rights holders protected from alleged extortion and interference by individuals claiming influence within government.
He accused some actors of using land disputes to intimidate investors and alleged that Chenda Gardens was among those interfering with investors operating in the area. The allegations were not independently verified, and the company’s response was not available at the briefing.
The cooperative secretary also condemned claims that some young people were being asked to pay Ksh3,000 to secure land, describing the alleged payments as extortion.
He urged authorities to investigate the claims and establish whether public officers were facilitating irregular land allocations or protecting individuals accused of grabbing community land.
Joshua Mwawasi, a community elder, similarly accused the local administration of allowing allegedly fraudulent plans to proceed. He said the community’s forefathers had established how the land should be shared and that the interests of future generations needed protection.
Leonard Mwayongo, a former councillor for Wumingu Kishushe Ward, said he had previously opposed alleged land grabbing in the area and had been arrested and taken to court over the matter, where he said he successfully defended himself.
He supported calls for a fresh adjudication, saying the process should guarantee land access for young people, even if allocations were limited to one acre per beneficiary.
Matilda Waleghwa, chairperson of Kishushe Ranching Cooperative Society Limited, also backed the proposed review, saying the elders had safeguarded the land for the community and that every eligible member deserved a fair share.
The leaders urged former ranch officials to cooperate with the current society leadership, alleging that some former officials had sold portions of the community land to wealthy individuals.
Despite their concerns, the cooperative leaders said they preferred dialogue to confrontation and called on the county government to bring together stakeholders to resolve the dispute.
Mwalimo said the community was prepared to pursue legal action if consultations failed to produce a fair outcome.
“We value dialogue but if we don’t agree, the community have the power to go to court and seek justice,” he said.
The leaders maintained that their demand was not to halt the government’s land programme but to ensure that adjudication in Kishushe B was conducted transparently, with proper planning and fair consideration of the community’s interests.
They said a credible process was essential to protect land rights, reduce disputes and ensure that the parcel could support future generations.
By Michael Oduor
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