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{
    "id": 5503,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/5503/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 16,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Mr. Okemo",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 198,
        "legal_name": "Chrysanthus Barnabas Okemo",
        "slug": "chrysanthus-okemo"
    },
    "content": "Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I wish to present a Petition on behalf of 20 residents of Busia County. I will read the Petition and then give a very brief background to the problem. “We the undersigned sugar-cane farmers, stakeholders, and residents of Busia County in western Kenya draw the attention of the House to the following: 1. In August, 1996 the Government, vide Legal Notice No.4844/5, compulsorily acquired 843 acres of land belonging to peasant farmers in Busia County known as Bukhayo/Nasewa/1500 for purposes of establishing a sugar factory. 2. Subsequently, the said parcel of land was mysteriously, and without knowledge or consent of all stakeholders concerned, registered in the name of a private company known as Busia Sugar Company Limited. 3. We verily believe that the said transfer of compulsorily acquired public land using public funds which had public interest for purposes of establishment of a sugar factory to the said private company and individuals was illegal, fraudulent, unlawful and against public interest. Consequently, any dealings by the said private company and individuals were null ab initio and the same should revert to the public. 4. Petitioners are still desirous of having a sugar factory established on the said parcel of land, which is now in danger of being disposed of by a few selfish individuals. We would like the Government to intervene and have the land revert to the public to be used for its originally intended purpose for the benefit of all the people of Busia County and the general public. Therefore, we humbly pray that the Government of the Republic of Kenya does the following: 1.Cancels all dealings relating to the land originally known as Bukhayo/Nasewa/1500 and have the same revert to the public and a new title deed issued in the name of Busia County; 2. Carry out thorough investigations on how public land acquired with taxpayers’ money ended up in the hands of private owners with a view to understanding the proceedings involved in the said fraudulent dealings and protect the public interest; 3. Immediately facilitate the establishment of a sugar factory on the said land, Nasewa in Busia County as originally intended; your petitioners will ever pray”. Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, I will give a very brief background that has led to this problem. In 1996, the Government compulsorily acquired 843 acres for a specific purpose of putting up a sugar factory. After that, somehow and mysteriously, the land reverted to a private company. As you know, and you are a lawyer, when you have land compulsorily acquired for use by the public, it cannot revert to a private company. Therefore, we would like to request that this matter be delved into expeditiously, because it now lies between the Ministry of Lands and the Ministry of Agriculture. We wrote to the Ministry of Lands and they replied saying that it was not their problem. They said that the matter arose as a result of a letter from the Ministry of Agriculture. I, therefore, would like to propose that the Ministry of Lands and the Ministry of Agriculture jointly deal with this problem. We would also like the matter to be dealt with by the Departmental Committee on Lands and Natural Resources and the Departmental Committee on Agriculture, Livestock and Cooperatives. I have a lot of evidence which I would like to present to the two committees. This is because as early as August, 2011 Mumias Sugar Company almost fraudulently transferred this same land to a private buyer, but a court stopped them. In the accounts they do not show any money owed to them by Busia Sugar Company. I would like to pray that this House takes up this matter and the two Departmental Committees delve into it so that we can arrive at a conclusion."
}