By MICHAEL OLINGA
April 13, 2026| At least 30 families in Makutano area, Lugari Sub-county, Kakamega, have been left homeless after their homes were demolished over the weekend.
The eviction followed a Court of Appeal decision that upheld a High Court judgment declaring the families illegal occupants of the land.
The case, which has been in court for years, culminated in a High Court ruling in 2023. The affected families claimed they had bought the land from a deceased owner and even obtained title deeds for it. The deceased had allegedly acquired the 20-acre parcel through adverse possession, having occupied it for many years.
However, the successful litigant in the case argued that the parcel had been illegally hived off from his property and produced ownership documents to support his claim.
Although the evicted families based their defense on the title deeds, the court found that the acquisition process was flawed—the ends could not justify the means. The deceased, who had claimed the land through adverse possession, violated a key tenet of that doctrine by selling the parcel. The court further ruled that he could not sell what he did not legally own, as he had never formalized his acquisition. This was especially significant given that the prime land, bordering the Turbo-Sikhendu Road currently being tarmacked, had been sold off.
Among those affected are elderly women who have called the land home for decades, as well as churches and business owners in Lugari Sub-county.
Armed with a court order, the rightful landowner—supported by sub-county police enforcers and two vans of youths—demolished all structures on the parcel and slashed crops, including maize that had been planted on the farm.
Lugari MP Nabii Nabwera visited the displaced families and promised to help them resettle and find makeshift shelter. He emphasized that decent shelter is a constitutional right.
“In the midst of their anguish and evident hardship, I took time to listen to their grievances and offered words of encouragement and solidarity. I remain committed to relentlessly pursuing justice for them and advocating for their fundamental rights to dignity, safe shelter, and a place they can call home,” Nabii said during the Sunday, April 12 meeting.
The MP also contributed cash to temporarily cushion the affected households.