Ruto In Taita-Taveta County Amid Criticos Land Row

Written By John Mutiso 📝

UDA presidential flagbearer Deputy President William Ruto has returned to Taita-Taveta County to rally support for his presidential bid.

The tour comes just a few weeks after he addressed the county Economic Forum at the Lumo Community Sanctuary, where he confirmed purchasing over 2,500 acres of disputed land from former Taveta MP Basil Criticos.

The land controversy has sparked heated debate across the political spectrum, with some politicians claiming it was illegally allocated to the DP and should be returned to the locals.

According to former Governor John Mruttu who confirmed the tour yesterday, Dr. Ruto will address two political rallies in the county.

“It is true that the DP is touring the county today. He (Ruto) will address a political rally in Taveta town at 1pm and thereafter in Mwatate town at 3pm,” Mruttu told The Standard yesterday.

DP Ruto has been making frequent visits to the county that has overwhelmingly voted for Raila Odinga, the ODM leader and Azimio la Umoja Oka Alliance presidential candidate.

His visit comes at a time when the thorny squatter menace has become a hot topic in the region, with both of the region’s leading presidential candidates promising voters a comprehensive solution to the land problem.

In the run-up to the last general election, the DP secretly purchased the vast property from former Taveta MP Basil Criticos for an undisclosed sum, becoming one of the county’s largest property owners in a county where the majority of the population lives as squatters.

However, his acquisition of the farm has elicited mixed reactions from locals, with some supporting the move as a huge investment in the region while others criticize it in equal measure.