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Kenya

MP sounds alarm over sugar factory land sale

NAIROBI, Kenya, Nov 24 – The Government has been petitioned to revert the ownership of an 843 acre piece of land in Busia County to public ownership.

Chris Okemo (Nambale) asked Parliament to work with the Ministries of Agriculture and Lands to ensure that the land on which Busia Sugar Company is erected is converted to its original public status.

In a petition by 21 residents of Busia County, Okemo told the House that the land which was compulsorily acquired by the government in 1996 had become private property in mysterious circumstances.

He said the land was in danger of being disposed of by Mumias Sugar Company which was recently slapped with a court order stopping the transfer of ownership.

He now wants the two parliamentary committees on lands and agriculture to investigate the circumstances and under which the facility was registered as a private company.

“I request that they deal with this issue expeditiously because lately, that is, in August, Mumias Sugar Company almost fraudulently transferred it to a private buyer until the court stopped it.”

Okemo said efforts to address the issue with Ministry of Lands had borne no fruit as the ministry in a letter had referred the matter to the Ministry of Agriculture.

The petition was supported by Eugene Wamalwa (Saboti), Boni Khalwale (Ikolomani) and Aden Duale (Dujis).”We are asking that a new title deed be issued to Busia County,” said Wamalwa.

“The National Assembly is the last hope to the people of Nasewa because powerful people who belong to the old school of ‘Moi’ politics have been fighting to keep take away the land,” said Khalwale.

Temporary Speaker Danson Mungatana directed that the committee investigate and table a report in three weeks time.

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