KENYA: Catholic Church Expresses Concern over Increased Grabbing of Public Land

NAIROBI JANUARY 23, 2015(CISA) – The Kenya Conference of Catholic Bishops (KCCB) has expressed concern over the increasing incidences of grabbing of public utility land by the so called ‘private developers’.

In a statement signed by Bishop Anthony Crowley, on the grabbing of Lang’ata Primary School playground and the brutal action of the police on protesting pupils, vice chairman Kenya Conference of Catholic Bishops (KCCB) – Commission for Education and  Religious Education  has called upon the Kenya government to  “bring to book” those behind land grabbing in the country.

“… There was another confrontation over the grabbing of land belonging to Our Lady of Mercy Girls Secondary School in Shauri Moyo, Nairobi. This begs certain questions; who is grabbing public school land? Who are the faceless ‘private developers’ and why are they so powerful that they have become untouchable? …” said the statement in part.

“It is regrettable that children have to resort to demonstrations out of desperation as the relevant government authorities take time to address issues affecting them. At the same time, we are concerned about the deliberate use of children by civil society activists and politicians in demonstrations, and subsequently, exposing them to danger,” said the prelate.

“We demand that the government moves quickly to identify and bring to book these so-called ‘private developers’ who are blatantly grabbing public school land and posing a threat to the education and welfare of the children,” concluded the statement.

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