Francis Atwoli, the Central Organisation of Trade Unions (COTU) boss has praised President Uhuru Kenyatta for repossessing the grabbed Ruai sewage land. The vocal activist said reclaiming of the land which was linked to Deputy President William Ruto had sent a message to grabbers countrywide.
Speaking on Friday, May 1, during the Labour Day celebrations at State House, Nairobi, the workers’ representative said he was fully behind the president in fighting corruption.
“Your excellency, we thank you and your government for the bold step you took to repossess grabbed land across the country particularly the Ruai sewerage land. Please do not get tired, we want you to go ahead and reclaim all the land previously owned by the government.”
“Reclaiming the Ruai land has sent a very strong message to grabbers who occupy public land across the country that it is just a matter of time before they are caught. The entire Kenyan citizens are behind you,” Atwoli said.
The Ministry of Water and Sanitation reclaimed 2,700 acres of sewerage land allegedly grabbed by Ruto and former Lugari MP Cyrus Jirongo in Ruai.
The land was set aside for sewerage, storage and treatment facilities for the city of Nairobi before it was grabbed by private developers. Water Principal Secretary Joseph Irungu said the ministry had genuine title deeds of the said land and anybody who laid claim to it would have to prove otherwise.
“All I know is that I have the mother title, I have three titles actually to this land and they add up to 1716.9 ha. So if anybody is holding a paper and claiming ownership of the land then they have to prove it,” the PS said.
Atwoli added he could not wait for the coronavirus pandemic to end so the Building Bridges Initiative rallies could begin, with a referendum in the offing. He said COTU had submitted a memorandum to the BBI team proposing a change in governance structure.
“We propose the have a structure will have the president, vice president, prime Minister with two deputies and cabinet ministers appointed among elected MP,” he said.
