The National Assembly Select Committee on Public Petitions met today to consider a petition by Hon. Tom Odege (Nyatike).

During the session chaired by Hon. Ernest Kagesi (Vihiga), the petitioners presented their concerns regarding the delayed adjudication and settlement of squatters following the expiration of the lease of Macalder Mines Ltd. land in Nyatike.

Members inquired why the squatters should receive the land, considering they are not the rightful owners of the property.

According to the petitioner, the squatters' ancestors have inhabited the land since 1935, and they have no other place they call home apart from the current one. The petitioner asserted that Macalder Mines's land is the only ancestral land of the squatters.

The Committee noted that the Macalder Mines land lease is set to expire in 2035 and the squatters can be on the land till then. Members added that as per the law, a squatter can have a claim to a piece of land if they stayed on it uninterruptedly for over 12 years.

In their prayers, the petitioners asked that all allotted leases of the land be terminated and the process be restarted. He also requested the committee to engage the Ministry of Lands to ensure that the Macalder Mines are re-adjudicated to allow the owners to acquire title deeds and save the residents from alleged erroneous and missing records. 

Hon. Kagesi reassured the petitioner that the Committee would carry out thorough investigations on the matter and take appropriate action.