Residents of Maji Ya Chumvi in Kwale county have petitioned the government to stop the issuance of 500 title deeds on the controversial parcel of land.
They want the land subdivision and allocation to be done afresh and new title deeds issued citing irregularities in the initial process of adjudication of the said land.
The residents called on Lands Cabinet Secretary Farida Karoney to intervene saying they have no faith with the 430 title deeds out 500 which the government announced were ready for issuance last week.
They held a demonstration to oppose the government plan to issue the title deeds for the controversial parcel of land in the area scheduled for next month.
They said the size of the land indicated in the title deeds does not match with that physically allocated on the ground.
Led by Rev Fredrick Kanato of the East Africa Pentecostal Church [EAPC] Samburu Parish they said the aggrieved parties demand the cancellation of the entire exercise.
They said the exercise should be stopped until all avenues are exhausted with the involvement of all stakeholders.
He spoke during a protest held at Mwagoloto village in Kinango constituency,
Rev Kanato told journalists for the sake of clarity the exercise of subdividing the land should be started afresh to end the perennial land problem in the area.
He dismissed claims that all stakeholders were involved in an open and fair exercise instead of only a few people.
"The move by the government will only enrich tycoons outside the county at the expense of the
local community in the county," he pointed out.
The EAPC Rev accused a former lawmaker who he alleged used his position as lands assistant minister to enrich tycoons at the expense of local residents and using the situation to confuse the affected residents on the land.
Kanato accused the former MP of using Muslim clerics to accuse a certain community to cover up the wrong deeds he has committed during his tenure.
He said the land adjudication exercise in 2014 was flawed as indigenous residents were left out.
"The chunk of land was allocated to private developers who are not local residents while members of the adjudication committee also allocated themselves parcels of the land.
The EAPC Rev told journalists it was against the law for the adjudication committee to allocate land to outsiders and therefore the exercise should be carried out afresh.
Kanato has dismissed the issuance of the title deeds as an exercise in futility as a former area MP is behind the saga.
He told journalists the exercise to sub divide the over 60,000 hectares of land through adjudication was flawed and was not open and transparent despite taxpayers' money being spent.
"The way the exercise is being hurried leaves a lot to be desired and there is a hidden agenda," he pointed out.
The EAPC Rev said by the look of things the exercise, if not stopped, will lock out genuine residents from benefiting and the the land will fall into the wrong hands.
The residents also accuse outsiders of intruding into their land.
The parliamentary committee on Lands is set to visit the area on Saturday for a fact finding mission following a petition by area Mp Benjamin Tayari in parliament.
The over 60,000 acres controversial piece of land was cleared for adjudication in 2014.
