Chelimo Plot Owners Appeal for Ruto’s Support to Secure Title Deeds

Approximately 300 plot owners in Chelimo are facing the risk of losing their properties either to the state or self-proclaimed squatters if the current Kericho government officials fail to take action.

These plot owners have reached out to President William Ruto, appealing for his intervention to secure their legally owned plots, which are backed by letters of allotment and title deeds.

Their concern stems from the worry that their legitimately acquired plots might be allocated to individuals claiming to be squatters.

During a recent charged meeting of plot owners, a decision was made to halt the government’s plot re-planning exercise until a resolution is reached regarding their situation.

Former Kericho mayors, Sammy Rugut, Isaih Rono, and former deputy mayor Wesley Ruto, expressed concerns that these plots might be wrongly allocated to self-proclaimed squatters.

While the plot owners acknowledge the existence of squatters, Mayor Rugut emphasized that the lands officers in charge of the re-planning exercise should not allocate their plots to these squatters.

During a recent visit by Lands Principal Secretary Nixon Korir to Chelimo, he assured squatters of allocations, but did not mention the fate of the legitimate plot owners.

Mayor Rugut called for personal intervention from PS Korir to suspend the re-planning exercise until the plot owners’ situation is resolved.

Chairman of the Chelimo Plot Owners, Alhaji Abdullahi, stressed the importance of addressing the concerns of legitimate plot owners and appealed to President William Ruto for assistance in retaining their properties.

Mayor Rugut noted that the so-called squatters are individuals from the Kericho, Bomet, and Transmara areas who initially engaged in farming on these plots before claiming squatter status on legally owned land.

In the early 1980s, Chelimo was a dense forest inhabited by wildlife. Mayor Rono recounted that due to criminal activity and prison escapees seeking refuge, the government ordered the clearing of the forest. During this time, an administrative chief allocated farms for farming, which later turned into squatter situations.