Civil rights activist Okiya Omtatah today suffered a blow after the High Court in Nakuru declined to issue orders revoking land titles in the hands of a land investment company in Naivasha which he claims were fraudulently acquired.
Omtatah had petitioned the lands court to revoke title deeds belonging to Isahakiah Self Help Group accusing them of seizing over 400 hectares of land set aside by the government for quarantine and research.
In his petition before court, Omtatah claimed that the land in question belongs to the Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Organization (KALRO) adding that the investment company used underhand means to acquire the said property.
Appearing before Justice Dalmas Ohungo, Mr Omtatah argued that following the land grabs in Naivasha, KALRO and other government departments dependent on the land have been unable to exercise their mandate as required adding that the grabbing has put plans to implement the construction of a Sh 2.5 billion ultra-modern research center funded by the world bank has been put in jeopardy.
“All government departments dependent on the land are set to lose terribly if orders are not issued since they is a construction of a research center which is now in doubts if it will move forward,” he said.
Mr Omtatah had jointly sued the attorney general Githu Muigai together with the National land commission over their failures to stop an ongoing grabbing of public land by the two organizations in Naivasha accusing them of conspiracy.
His prayers were however not granted by court as no proof of service of the suit to the respondents in the case was presented in court.
