Raila to blame for land grabbing in Lamu, says Duale

Leader of Majority in the National Assembly has accused National Super Alliance (Nasa) principals of being part of a syndicate of land grabbers of the over 500,000 acres of land in Lamu County.

Addressing the public at Mkunguni Square in Lamu town on Wednesday during President Uhuru Kenyatta’s tour to the region, Mr Aden Duale lauded the Jubilee government for the efforts made in ensuring Lamu people have a right to own land.

He said it was unfortunate that the Lamu people have suffered for long on matters to do with land grabbing and land ownership.

In 2015, the national government revoked over 500,000 acres of land belonging to 22 ranches in Lamu which were said to have been irregularly acquired.

Mr Duale said much of the land was grabbed when Raila Odinga was in office as Prime Minister.

He said Raila and his allies allowed and watched injustices done to the Lamu people.

“Massive land grabbing and injustices that were perpetrated against the people of Lamu took place when Raila was Prime Minister and James Orengo the Lands minister.

“They worked together to ensure they weren’t held accountable. Tell me what such a group can do if they are allowed to run the country?” he told the crowd.

Land is still the cause of many conflicts in Lamu County and the fact that most of the land was classified as public, has made it hard for locals to acquire title deeds to claim ownership.