Siaya: Family in Ugunja faces eviction over land dispute

A family in Ugunja Sub-County is facing the threat of eviction from the land they have lived on for nearly seven decades.

The tension follows a recent ruling by the Magistrate’s Court in Ukwala, which awarded full ownership of the 11-acre parcel to one of their cousins, potentially paving the way for a forceful removal of the rest of the family.

Allan Nyawade, one of the affected family members, recounted that his grandfather first settled on the land in 1957, invited by his own brother.

After the brother’s death, Allan’s father remained on the farm, raising his family on the property. Over time, the land became home to multiple generations.

Following Allan’s father’s passing, Allan’s aunt moved onto a portion of the land after separating from her husband.

The dispute escalated after her death in 2011, when her son filed a case to evict the rest of the family, claiming sole ownership through his late mother.

Tensions peaked in April this year when Allan’s son passed away.

As the family prepared for his burial on the land where Allan had built his home, they were initially served with a court order halting the burial.

The matter was later taken to court, which ruled in favor of the family, allowing the burial to proceed.

Veronica Akumu Ogutu, who married into the family in 1985, expressed deep sorrow, noting that she now has nowhere else to go.

She has buried several loved ones, including her husband in 2003, on the same land now under threat.

Aggrey Wasonga, Allan’s uncle, born in 1968, condemned the eviction attempt as an act of bad faith, insisting that the land is their only home.

In response, human rights activist Steven Agunda has called on the Chief Justice Martha Koome to form a committee to investigate what he described as an “illegality” surrounding the dispute.