Suba residents demand Gwassi Hills boundary review to curb encroachment

CS John Mbadi speaks with professional Bernard Odhuno in Kisaku village in Suba South constituency/ROBERT OMOLLO

Residents from the Suba region in Homa Bay want the Ministry of Lands to conduct a boundary review on Gwassi Hills to improve forest conservation.

They argued that the forested areas have been encroached due to improper boundaries. Such encroachment has increased environmental degradation. Some families are accused of occupying government land as they undertake human activities such as crop farming and charcoal burning.

There is no clear boundary between private and state land in the region. Residents who face possible eviction asked for help from their leaders. Treasury Cabinet Secretary John Mbadi and Engineer Bernard Odhuno, who are both residents of the region, called for boundary review to determine where people need to occupy.

Mbadi said a lot of people depend on Gwassi hills as he called for its protection.

“The current challenge we have in Gwassi hills is the lack of clear boundaries. Kenya Forest Service should establish a boundary as soon as possible because money has been allocated for them to do the work,” Mbadi said.

Suba South residents and professionals Eng Bernard Odhuno, Philip Ongeri at Kisaku village in Suba South constituency/ROBERT OMOLLO

“We want to see people grow trees in those forests, not crop cultivation. This will help us achieve the government agenda of growing 15 billion trees by 2032,” the CS said.

Odhuno said a lot of families are likely to lose their property if boundaries are not clearly identified should the government evict them. He said there needs to be a communal meeting where residents will discuss where their land ends and where the government's land begins.

“I am ready to offer advice and use my expertise to guide communities on where they should reach when cultivating or building. We need to know where beacons were put,” Odhuno said.

He called on the National Lands Commission and other state agencies to get involved in the process. Residents led by Philip Ongeri and Tom Kebia said one of the reasons why people encroach on government land is to find space for farming and settlement. Ongeri said most farmers realized that cultivation on virgin land makes them get more crops. Some people are scaling up the hills to use pieces of land that have never had crops planted on them. “Some families have taken advantage of the lack of boundaries to acquire more land whenever they wish. Gwassi hills should be protected from degradation,” Ongeri said. Environmentalist Willis Omullo said some of the adverse weather conditions like drought are being fueled by individuals including people in Gwassi who continue to cut down trees. “We need to intensify protection of forested land through drone technology to ensure no one interferes with trees,” the environmentalist said. He proposed to agencies responsible for environmental protection to use speedballs to and restore Gwassi hills back to its former glory.