The High Court has ruled that the allocation of over 1,500 acres of land by the Ministry of Interior for military bases in Turkana County was unlawful.
In a judgment delivered by Justice Kossy Bor, the court declared that the land had been allocated to the Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) without following proper legal processes or consulting the affected Turkana community in February 2021. "A declaration is hereby issued that the process of identifying, setting aside, and annexing Turkana community ancestral land in Suguta Valley and Kawap areas by the NLC on behalf of KDF, in conjunction with the Cabinet Secretary of the Ministry of Defence and the County Government of Samburu, was unlawful and void," ruled Justice Bor.
Although the land is currently occupied by the KDF for military training purposes, the court decided that immediate eviction was not appropriate.
Instead, Justice Bor instructed the National Land Commission (NLC) to initiate a compensation process for the displaced Turkana community within 18 months.
