A former provincial commissioner, Labour Cabinet Secretary Kazungu Kambi and relatives of President Uhuru Kenyatta were on Monday named among the key perpetrators of land grabbing syndicates in Lamu county.
Addressing journalists at the Panafric Hotel in Nairobi, Siaya Senator James Orengo said he was only being targeted as a scapegoat but was ready to defend himself. He was flanked by Senator Boni Khalwale and Member of Parliament Junet Mohammed.
The Senator also released a list containing over 800 names of people he said have acquired land illegally in various parts of Kenya over the years.
“I want to say before you without any fear of contradiction and with a clear conscience that before I talk the matter at heart, that me James Orengo the Senator for Siaya on the basis of my record in the struggle to bring about reforms in the country, that I will be the last person with a free conscience to do the kind of things that I am currently being accused of,” he said. “In fact, I would dare people who are making statements when they can tell the people of Kenya directly that I do not own a piece of land either by proxy, directly or indirectly… the only land that I have is in the area of Ugenya.”
He also said that there would have been opportunities for him to buy or acquire land in many parts of the country but he did not.
Those on the list of suspected land grabbers is the Deputy President William Ruto.
“This is the list (of 800 grabbers) that is bringing me trouble, and in this list you will not find the name of Senator Khalwale there but you will find the name of the Deputy President (William Ruto), not one piece but several pieces of land (belonging to him) that I revoked.”
Orengo also brought to note that greedy land cartels belonging to the Moi orphans were angered by reforms he undertook as a Lands Minister.
He explained that the real problem did not occur during his tenure but were historical injustices perpetrated by the Kenyatta and Moi regimes.
“The issue of Lamu is not about 2011-2012. What people of Lamu are complaining is about illegal allocation of land to the high and mighty.”
Senator Boni Khalwale who accompanied Orengo explained that Jubilee was only using land issues to settle political scores.
“Kenyans are not idiots, they know what is happening now is merely a smoke screen so that more land can be grabbed in Lamu by the old cartels… the old network,” he stated.
“The people, who lost to NARC in 2002, were the spiritual and ideological orphans of President Moi and are now regrouping,” said the Senator who also noted importantly that the said culprits came from across the country including his own county.
Suna East Member of Parliament Junet Mohammed asked the government to implement the Truth Justice and Reconciliation Commission (TJRC) report saying, “What is being implemented now is called politically compliant Ngilu land report.”
The MP noted that title deeds that will be revoked in the ongoing purge will be awarded to senior politicians after two years.
Although all indications point to the contrary, Jubilee operatives have claimed that they only wanted to solve Lamu land problems and that their move was not politically motivated.
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