Thika residents are a worried lot that they may never get land to bury their loved ones if Kiambu governor Fernidand Waititu government official proceed with the illegal motive of grabbing the public cemeteries.
Public utilities including parcels set aside for schools, hospitals, social halls, recreational facilities and land belonging to squatters have been the major target for the notorious grabbers.
The witty grabbers have been working together with corrupt officials at the county and Lands Ministry to forge land ownership documents.
Thika Town MP Patrick Wainaina and area residents have raised the red flag over an alleged scheme to grab a 10-acre public cemetery.
He took issue with the Kiambu county government saying the leadership is after cemetery land in Thika town as well as the 635 acres that was hived off by Del Monte Ltd.
This comes after residents chased away Kiambu County government workers, who were putting up a perimeter wall last week at the public facility.
Wainaina and the residents accused the county government of ganging up with some individuals to annex the cemetery for commercial use.
Speaking while issuing bursary cheques at General Kago Primary School, the MP claimed some county officials, including a powerful politician, were behind the plan to grab the land.
Land grabbing cases in Thika constituency have now reached alarming levels causing hue and cry from residents.
However, Thika Town administrator Ephraim Njihi dismissed the claims, saying fencing of the burial site was a security measure that had been politicised.
“We decided to construct the wall after Mount Kenya University students complained to the county government over increased insecurity cases,” he said.
Area deputy county commissioner Douglas Mutai said he was not aware of any security threats around the cemetery, but welcomed the move by the county government to secure it “if it was in good faith”.