Criticos’ bumper court compensation as TaitaTaveta residents continue suffering as squatters

As thousands of residents of Taveta sub-county continue suffering as squatters on their ancestral land, former MP Basil Criticos will be smiling all the way to the bank after the High Court awarded him a hefty compensation of Sh 2.6 billion.

This is so far the largest amount awarded to a private land owner in Coast region even as locals continue grappling with landlessness and poverty occasioned by lack of title deeds.

The former MP has been involved in a court battle with the National Bank for more than 15 years after part of his 15,000 acre land was auctioned over a debt owed to the bank.

Consequently, he High Court gave Criticos a greenlight to seize cash and government bonds at the Central Bank of Kenya(CBK) belonging to the NBK over unpaid Sh 2.57 billion compensation.

The squatter problem in Taveta is due to the fact that huge chunks of the land is in the hands of the Kenyatta family, Criticos, and more recently President William Ruto who bought part of the vast farm from the controversial former MP while serving as deputy president.

Following the court ruling, Criticos will be allowed access to NBK’s Sh 4.2 billion in the CBK and another Sh 46.6 billion worth of Treasury Bills and bonds.

The Bank was ordered to pay the former MP the money as compensation for auctioning his sisal farm.

Skeptical observers are questioning the impact this hefty award will have on the lending powers of NBK and if this compensation will benefit Criticos, who once described himself as “a squatter on his own land” or “the powers that be”.

In December last year, an attempt by the NBK to appeal the decision at the Supreme Court failed,

The judges led by Justice Dorah Chepkwony, found out that the auction in September 2007 of the land belonging to the former MP was undervalued after the forced sale failed to take into account buildings, sisal, a quarry and road network on the land.

NBK unsuccessfully sought to overturn the Sh2.57 billion award, arguing that the compensation risked pushing the bank into losses thereby affecting its lending obligations.

Justice Chekwony said she had read the notice of motion and granted the application in accordance with prayer 3 in which Criticos , through his lawyer Allen Gichuhi, had sought a garnishee order over NBK deposits at the Central Bank of Kenya.

Last year, Criticos admitted that he has sold more than 2,500 acres of land in the Mata area to then deputy president William Ruto.

However Ruto claimed Criticos had gifted him the land after he helped him sort out a debt the former MP owed the Agricultural Finance Corporation(AFC).

Criticos, who is no stranger to controversy, claimed that he had lost huge chunk of the land in early 2000 due to continued tension with the squatters who had allegedly invaded his farm where 500 acres of the land was given out to squatters in Mata.

Another thorny issue has been the validity of the land lease, with claims that the 99- year lease for the fast farm had expired.

During the campaign period in July last year, Azimio La Umoja presidential candidate Raila Odinga had vowed to investigate Ruto’s land dealings in Coast if elected president.

The Azimio leader had accused Ruto of illegally acquiring land in Taveta while thousands of residents continued suffering as squatters.

Managing Director

In January 2020 Taveta residents accused Ruto’s ranch of causing water shortages in the area after water from a nearby source was diverted to his ranch.

The farm’s managing director Arie Dempers was arrested and accused of denying residents the precious commodity.

Last month squatters made a fresh bid for Criticos land at Mokine area, where angry residents pulled down an electric fence around a hundred acres of land.

Summoned

Led by area MP John Bwire, the agitated locals claimed that Criticos had fenced off the land illegally, enclosing 33 houses within.

MP Bwire was later summoned by the Taveta DCI office to record a statement over the alleged invasion. Criticos’ dalliance with Ruto in the land deals paid dividends recently when the former MP was appointed the chairperson of the Kenya Trade Network Agency. ..et