RUTO ; CAN HE SOLVE THE LAND QUESTION IN KENYA?

 The issue of land in this Country is very emotive. It is an issue that have led to bloodshed , hatred , bitterness and even squattership etc. In many court registries and shelves , most of the civil cases are all about land. In the Chiefs and sub Chief offices , most of the cases they handle each day are on land disputes. Most of the con games that involve millions and billions of shillings , land is at the centre. What am trying to say is , the issue of land in Kenya is a hot potato. It is an issue that stemmed from the independence goverment led by the late President Jomo Kenyatta. It is an issue which was the genesis of his fall out with his fellow Kapenguria six fellows. Also , it was at the centre of the ideological differences between him and his VP Jaramogi Oginga Odinga.

In his book , former Bahari MP Joe Khamisi in his mouth watering book "LOOTERS AND GRABBERS" he has documented shocking information about land grab from the Jomo regime to the current Government. This week , DP Ruto confessed that he owns 2500 acres of land while in his charm offensive vote hunt in Taita Taveta County. The reason why he confessed is because he fixed himself when he engaged the locals on that sensitive issue of land when he is a culprit. The question is , how could he have addressed that emotive issue of land in a county infested with a litany of squatters whose problems are historical? He lied blatantly to thr national and coast region residents and especially those in Taita Taveta County that , the former Taveta MP Basil Criticos awarded him 2500 acres. Underline , AWARDED.

The fact is , Criticos sold the land to one William Ruto to off set a loan he had failed to service. Word has it , it was a huge loan from Agricultural Finance Corporation ( AFC) and the person whom he contacted first was William Ruto. So , if Ruto can lie in such a sensitive issue , who can trust him to solve the land question in Coast region and any other place in Kenya. Criticos came out and cleared the air something that left Ruto with an egg on his face. The fact of th matter is , Ruto is just massaging the ego of Coast region residents by riding on their predicaments while feigning that he will address them. His promise that if he becomes president of Kenya his goverment will buy all the idle land in Coast region through compulsory acquisition of land is another MEGA SCANDAL loading. Infact , it is him who will be buying this land at the highest price , hive his share of billions and distribute the land not to thr squatters but his cronies who were instrumental in his campaigns. The most sad thing is, the squatter problem in that region will not be addressed.

This very Ruto lost a case while in office when the High Court sitting in Milimani , Nairobi found him guilty of possession of the late Adrian Muteshi 100 acres and was also compelled to pay his sh 5 Million in reparations. The most saddening thing is , he had grabbed all this acres during the 2007/08 PEV period. Ruto is also at the centre of the Langata primary school play field grabbing and the tear gasing of pupils. There is also an ongoing case between his Weston hotel and the Kenya civil Aviation Authority (KCAA) land which his Weston hotel lies. At first , he had denied that hotel belongs to him. After being pressed by opposition leaders and Kenyans , he threw in the towel and admitted owning it. 

My worry is , what kind of a leader is he? Infact , if you want to know any allegation levelled aganaist Ruto is legit is when he denies it. That is the time you learn he is at the centre of it and a beneficiary of it. The question is , is this the kind of president Kenyans are looking upon? Someone who doesn't mean what  he says and says what he doesn't mean. To Kenyans of good will , let's avoid this disaster in Ruto. The issue of land and  Ruto cannot feature in the same sentence. The hyena cannot be a prosecutor in a case involving the sheep and in this case , the sheep is the victim and the hyena is the oppressor.