A High Court in Bungoma this week stopped a government plan to hand over the Bungoma Airstrip to a private developer. The developer was supposed to build a smart city on the land. This decision has sparked major debate across the region.What makes the situation even more confusing is that the State has been reclaiming public land in other parts of Kenya.
However, in Bungoma, the same government now stands accused of giving away public land to private interests, pretending it is for development. Many see this as a big contradiction.
The court’s move comes just days after another important ruling in Nairobi. The court stopped the government from leasing 24,000 acres of land belonging to Nzoia Sugar Company. Reports showed the government wanted to lease it out at only Ksh 50,000 per acre, even though the land is already full of mature sugarcane.
This raised serious questions about who really benefits from such deals. In Bungoma, it is not just the airstrip at risk. The government has already taken over 70 acres from Sang’alo Institute to build an industrial park.
Additionally, another 32 acres, which were initially planned for county government expansion, have now been reallocated for affordable housing projects.
Many locals feel these moves are happening without enough consultation or transparency. The Bukusu community, which forms the majority in Bungoma, is particularly unhappy.
They accuse the Kenya Kwanza administration of working with a few non-Bukusu elites to take away their ancestral land. The community believes these deals are being made behind closed doors, without considering the wishes of the local people. There is a growing feeling that the government is disrespecting their land rights and history.
Political observers say this growing anger could have serious political consequences. Speaker of the National Assembly Moses Wetang’ula and Bungoma Governor Kenneth Lusaka are seen as close to the government.
With land being such an emotional and sensitive issue in Bungoma, pressure is now mounting on both leaders. If they are seen as failing to protect community interests, they could lose support in future elections.
The situation has exposed deeper problems about how public land is handled in Kenya. While the government talks about fighting land grabbing, actions like those in Bungoma tell a different story.
Locals are now demanding more transparency and fairness before any more land is taken away under the name of development.
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