When Retired President Uhuru Kenyatta on May 27, 2021, ordered the Ministry of Land to waive the Ksh1.05 billion in titling fees, the over 35,000 Embakasi Ranching Company Ltd shareholders celebrated, knowing that their woes had been settled for good.
However, two years later, the residents returned to their offices in protest after the order given by the former Head of State failed to materialise.
The shareholders argued that the presidential promise did not yield much as the one-month deadline that was issued by the Jubilee government elapsed, and yet no title deeds were issued.
“We now want the former officer investigated, and a new registration exercise conducted to determine the number of shareholders in order for us to start the process of getting our title deeds,” decried the protesters who claimed that they shut down the main office in Embakasi and reopened a new one in Kiambu.
To respond to their plight, membership turned the heat on former management, claiming that they fleeced the company and had nothing to show for the money they earned.
While addressing the media during the launch of a new office on Sunday, May 21, the members declared their former office a crime scene and urged the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) to commence investigations into the billions of shillings worth of property.
Vice Chairperson Fidelis Wangare and Director Joseph Njenga led the new leadership in sounding an alarm over what they termed as clandestine activities to steal what rightfully belonged to the members.
“Most members lost their certificates when the former office revoked them leaving members without any form of evidence of land ownership,” Joseph Njenga, one of the complainants, stated.
The members, therefore, asked President William Ruto’s administration to step in and establish facts of the matter, including the whereabouts of the original land register that will provide details about their property.
It was claimed that rogue former officials had colluded with police officers to harass and intimidate them from taking action over failure to meet managerial obligations.
The company Director Joseph Njenga’s aim was to acquire land for its members and to develop it into a residential and agricultural settlement as per the original objective.
Embakasi Ranching Company acquired a large tract of land in the Embakasi area of Nairobi. The company started developing the land in the early 1980s. By the late 1980s, the company had built a number of roads, schools, and other infrastructure on the land. The company also started selling plots to its members.
In the 1990s, Embakasi Ranching Company experienced a number of challenges. The company was accused of corruption and mismanagement.
As a result, it faced legal challenges from some of its members prompting the Government to take over the management of the ranching company in 2022.
Ever since, the government has been working to improve the management of the company as well as to resolve the legal challenges it faces.
In 2013, the government started issuing title deeds to the members of Embakasi Ranching Company but stopped due to corrupt activities.
The company owns over 1,000 acres of land in Embakasi.
