Parents Protest Alleged Land Grabbing at Kapsamich Primary School in Elgeyo Marakwet
“The school would not have a place to build additional classrooms for ECD learners should the land fall into the hands of private developers.”
Hundreds of parents from Kapsamich Primary in the Chepkorio area of Elgeyo Marakwet County staged a demonstration on Saturday to protest the alleged grabbing of a section of the public school land by a private developer.
They claimed that the developer was determined to take over the portion of land where the classroom hosting Early Childhood Development (ECD) learners is located.
Naomi Tarus, a member of the school’s Parents and Teachers Association (PTA), noted, “The school, which sits on about five acres of land, is in an area where an acre costs approximately Ksh 1.2 million.”
The placard-carrying parents accused a former influential senior chief of colluding with the developer from Uasin Gishu County to deprive the school of a prime two-acre piece of land. This is where the nursery school section stands.
Brandishing tree branches, the parents chanted, “Let us stop land grabbing,” as they marched along the route leading to the disputed land adjacent to the primary school.
Caroline Chebet, another parent, claimed that those eyeing the land where lower primary school learners study want to sell it to the highest bidder. She added that the school management plans to expand the classrooms on the disputed piece of land due to rising pupil numbers from the surrounding areas.
Chebet warned, “The school would not have a place to build additional classrooms for ECD learners should the land fall into the hands of private developers.”
Moses Chepkoech, another PTA member, added, “We were surprised to see an individual claiming to come from Uasin Gishu County laying claim to the two-acre piece of land where the nursery school section stands, despite the fact that we have all the documents for the entire school land.”
Chepkoech has appealed to the EACC North Rift regional office to investigate the activities of the former chief and bring those involved in the land grab scheme to book. Speaking to the media at the institution, he said, “We have all the records from relevant county and national governments indicating that the piece of land belongs to the school.”
“Those behind the scheme to grab our school land are well-known personalities in the community and beyond, but let them know that it will not be business as usual,” warned Chepkoech.
Another parent, Collins Kiptoo, vowed, “As parents, we will not allow anybody to transfer the disputed piece of land from public utility to private property. We tell the private developer to keep off the said land.”
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