This archive report was first published on 19 July 2021.
Kimilili MP Didimus Barasa has expressed concern over the gazettement of Chetambe Hills in Webuye East sub-county as a water catchment area, which he claims will displace over 30,000 residents who have lived there for decades.
Speaking in Malindi, the legislator stated that residents have title deeds for the land they reside in at the hills and were not consulted before the decision was made.
Barasa further stated that as leaders, they are concerned because the gazettement targets Kimilili and Webuye East constituencies, adding that the people involved have not been given an alternative land where they should resettle.
“It is wrong for Tobiko to declare that Chetambe Hills is a forest land yet people have been living there for very many years,” he said.
Barasa vowed to challenge the gazettement in court and resist any attempt by the government to take over the ancestral land that belongs to the Tachoni community.
“We will protect the land that belongs to our ancestors. It is not going to be business as usual,” he said.
He also questioned the timing of the gazette notice, citing the area's growing tourism industry due to the presence of a large hotel.
