A dispute over a piece of land has left two family members in Rhonda at odds. According to Rajab Langoi, his grandmother Rahel Tapkigen Cheruiyot left behind a 100-by-100 plot of land that was to be divided equally among family members.

But in 2021, Rajab found out that his cousin, Alex Douglas Chiri, was planning to sell the piece of ancestral land and cheat the rest of the family out of their inheritance.

"I learnt about Chiri's evil plan from his brother who confided in me that Chiri was planning to sell the land for Sh1.8 million. I am resisting because the land should be shared among the families of my grandmother's three daughters," said Rajab Langoi.

Langoi notes that the land, which was acquired by his grandmother in 1972 through the Kalenjin Enterprise Limited, is now the source of a bitter exchange between him and his cousin.

Read: Lands of Deceit: The day a Lands court Judge fell prey to suspected land grabbers (Part 1)

According to one of the directors of Kalenjin Enterprise Limited, David Kiplimo, Chiri turned up at their offices with a letter from the chief stating that the land belonged to his mother and asking for help in transferring ownership.

"I cannot deny that the company gave Mr Chiri documents to help him get title to the land. However, he came to the company officials to have the said land transferred from Ms Tapkigen's name to his, as he was trying to get a title deed for the said land. This the officials did and gave him the title deed. What we did not know is that he lied about the nature of his relationship with Ms Tapkigen," Mr Kiplimo said.

Land dispute: 62 year old man fights for inheritance left by his grandmother

Efforts to reach Mr Chiri were unsuccessful, but on our last attempt his wife Mary Achieng' Oduor answered the phone. Ms Achieng notes that the struggle for the said land has brought no peace to her family.

"I have lived on the Rhonda land since 1996, when I got married, and when my husband's grandmother died she left us the land deeds as an inheritance. But now other family members have turned against us and want to take the land away," she said.

Read: Lands of Deceit: How wife managed to sell husband's land in Kirima, Menengai slopes

Mr Langoi says his cousin's secretary fraudulently obtained a title deed to the land and that it should be cancelled.

He notes that they have tried to settle the matter out of court, but the process has borne no fruit. His plea is that the said land should be shared among the rightful people who are expected to inherit their grandmother's land.

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Rhonda man seeks justice in family land dispute

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