A land dispute has arisen in Kamukunji between elderly women from the Galole Women Dancers group and the Maina Wanjigi Girls Secondary School, which has occupied the site for over 40 years. The group insists on its ownership of the seven-acre plot where the school stands. Their claims were presented before a county committee, while leaders affirm the land belongs to the school.
The Galole Women Dancers group, with roots in the famous Nyakinyua ensemble, claims legitimate ownership of a portion of the seven-acre land occupied by Maina Wanjigi Girls Secondary School in Nairobi. These claims rest on a land separation letter and a title deed obtained after a survey last year.
Chair Halima Gole provided evidence before Nairobi County Assembly's Planning Committee, chaired by councillor Alvin Palapala. She explained that the land was allocated to the dancers by President Jomo Kenyatta in 1966. The school's construction began in 1982 under then-MP Maina Wanjigi, a project funded by the women in partnership with the government.
Now, Gole stated that the elderly, ill, and widowed women are facing unknown individuals posing as school representatives. "They come at midnight, break our houses, and order us to leave. Our houses have been burned three times. Some members are sick; others have died amid this conflict. We just want justice. This land is ours, and we have stakes to prove it," Gole told the committee.
The disputed land is valued at approximately Sh210 million. The issue was reported to the Ministry of Lands and Deputy County Commissioner Frederick Martin Muli, who on March 13 requested an inspection. After the survey, Muli said he could not ascertain if the claimed portion differs from the school area, and the process halted when a man named Kariuki intervened.
The school land was fenced by the Ministry of Education in 2018 but still lacks a title deed. MP Yusuf Hassan and Education Director Luley Abdullahi Yahya insist the land unequivocally belongs to the school, viewing the claims as part of a broader public property grabbing scheme. "There have been many attempts to grab this land using different groups. We stand firmly with Maina Wanjigi Secondary School against land grabbers' schemes," Hassan said.