The Genesis Of Land Tussle Behind Athi River Demolitions
Over 4,298 hectares of land in Mavoko, Machakos County was in dispute when the East African Portland Cement Company won a lengthy court battle against a farmers’ association named Aimi Ma Lukenya last week.
Last week, the Environment and Land Court dismissed the farmers’ association’s lawsuit for failure to serve the defendants with amended pleadings.
The case has been outstanding in the Environment and Land Court of Machakos County since 2014.
On Sunday, Aimi Ma Lukenya, through its representatives Julius Mutie Mutua, Alex Kyalo Mutemi, and Pascal Kiselin Basilo, presented us with a document asserting ownership of a County Estate, where demolitions are currently underway.
However, after verifying the document with the Ministry of Lands, we determined that it is not genuine.
According to court documents, Aimi Ma Lukenya submitted a forged title deed with entry number 7, but Ministry of Lands records indicate that the most recent entry is number 6.
The farmers’ union filed a lawsuit against East African Portland Cement for a declaration of ownership and a permanent injunction prohibiting the cement producer from taking any action on the parcel of land pending the outcome of the case.
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In 2016, Aimi Ma Lukenya secured a court injunction against East African Portland Cement.
“That a temporary injunction be and is hereby issued prohibiting the defendant or its agents from erecting, building, occupying or in any other form interfering with Land Reference Number 10424 until the hearing and determination of this suit,” indicated the court document.
Almost seven years after the order was issued, Justice Annet Nyukuri stated last week that the plaintiff, Aimi Ma Lukenya, had failed to serve the amended pleadings on the defendants within three weeks as ordered by the court in May, and threatened to dismiss the case if the plaintiffs did not comply.
It is unclear why Aimi Ma Lukenya did not file the pleadings by the deadline specified.
On October 9, Justice Nyukuri dismissed the case because the plaintiff failed to serve its documents as the court had ordered in May.
Thousands of families whose homes were reduced to debris over the past few days will continue to tally losses in the millions of shillings for the time being.
The Genesis Of Land Tussle Behind Athi River Demolitions
