More than 200 absentee landowners in Laikipia, Meru, Isiolo and Kajiado counties risk missing out on billions of shillings in land compensation from the Kenya Electricity Transmission Company (Ketraco).
The state agency made the announcement and said that they have not been able to trace owners of the 338 acres targeted for acquisition to allow passage of three high voltage transmission lines whose construction faces delay.
Compensation for wayleave land to build the 132-kilovolt Nanyuki-Isiolo-Meru transmission line covering 96 kilometres is said to have started in 2013 but some 142 land owners are yet to show up for claims. The line requires a wayleave corridor of 30 metres from Meru to Nanyuki before widening to 40 metres to accommodate a double circuit after Nayuki. Ketraco will be targeting 177 acres from absentee landlords.
30-day noticeย
The 400kv Kenya-Tanzania and 132Kv Isinya-Namanga transmission line covering 96 kilometres on the other hand will also need a wayleave corridor of 70 metres from the Isinya Substation to Namanga at the Kenya-Tanzania border. Here 53 land owners owning between one and nine acre pieces in Mailua, Ildamat and Lorngosua have not been traced since 2017 when pay began.
The firm has resulted to give land owners 30 days beyond which their parcels will be used and paid for at legally prescribed rates in regards to the Law Section 171 and 173 of the Energy Act. This law demands that landowners who cannot be traced must be granted a 15-day notice through appropriate mass channels including advertisement in at least two national newspapers or a radio station that covers the local area for a period of two weeks.
