Maendeleo Ya Wanawake, Township youths in dispute with former MP over KANU land in Wajir

By: Suleiman Abdikadir

Maendeleo ya Wanawake and youths in township are threatened to move to the High Court to lay dispute to a land that was formerly owned by the Kanu party during the Nyayo regime.

The ownership of the land was claimed by the first Member of Parliament for Wajir West (1969-1974) Ibrahim Husein alias Ibrahim Seer.

“Mr Seer claims ownership to a disputed public land which he cannot account for, and despite obtaining a court order, things are not going easy for him,” a youth leader in Township who requested anonymity for fear of backlash told Kulan Post in confidence.

The contentious land, which housed the KANU offices was built on tax payer’s money during president Moi’s regime.

The piece of land was taken over by the the Maendeleo Ya Wanawake, who claim to be the legit owners. Under Maendeleo Ya Wanawake, the land played host to a number of projects to empower women and youths in the areas.

From the disabled network in Wajir to free tailoring courses offer by the women organization, the contentious land has for several years immensely helped the residents of Wajir Township. Ibrahim Seer has so far fenced the plot he illegally acquired.

We contacted Mr Ibrahim for comment. He said he would not discuss anything with the media until the court case is over.

During my last visit to Wajir—about a week ago—sources privy to the details of the case told this writer that the Mzee terrorizes the public by using police officers to intimidate any person who blocks his way.

Land ownership has never been an easy subject to understand in Kenya and in as much as there are a number of new laws being introduced by the legislature; only few have been implemented to date.

For instance, the publication of the report of the commission of inquiry into irregular allocation of lands in Kenya (2004), widely known as The Ndun’gu report bore no fruits. The commission confirmed what many Kenyans already knew: that land corruption was systematic and widespread.

In another contentious case, Ibrahim Seer is also accused of grabbing another land across Baraza Park in Township ward just hundred meters away from KANU’s offices, a land that once belonged to the forest department. Reports at the county lands offices claim they have no knowledge of how he acquired these piece of lands.

Ibrahim Seer served at the legislative assembly during the one party rule in Kenya. The time during which, it is believed he grabbed most of this public lands.