Image: courtesy
Dozens of unknown people on Monday raided a Kenyatta family-owned land along the Eastern Bypass, Ruiru, and destroyed property.
The group was armed with power saws and machetes and felled a number of trees before escaping with an unknown number of sheep from there.
This is after they breached a fence around the expansive farm.
Witnesses said the gang gained access to the land from the Kamakis side via the busy bypass and some were seen carrying sheep from the property.
Brookside Dairy and Peponi School are among the high-end properties situated inside the vast property.
The motive of the invasion was seen to be organized by those opposed to the ongoing protests against the government.
Some government officials tweeted about the farm and invasion before they deleted the same.
This gave an indication they knew about the drama.
The over 11,000-acre farm, Northlands City, was set to host a real estate haven that included low and high-income residential areas, an agricultural zone, an industrial area, and schools.
It is estimated that the ambitious project would cost up to Sh500 billion and with a population of at least 250,000 people.
Police said they had heard about the invasion and they were sending teams to find out.
“We have also heard of the invasion and we are checking on the same,” said an officer who asked not to be named.
The incident drew mixed reactions online. Some argued this sent a wrong signal to investors.
Northlands, as the planned city is known, is expected to dwarf similar projects such as Tatu City, and incorporates low-to-high-income residential areas, commercial space, a central business district, schools, an industrial area, and an agricultural zone.
The development which is estimated to cost Sh500 billion occupies an 11,576 parcel of land in Ruiru – about 15km from the Nairobi city center.
The land also hosts the Uhuru Kenyatta Secondary School, which together with Peponi School occupies 86 acres.
A Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) report for the project in 2019 indicates that the different zones will support a population of 250,000 people.
