Two companies are locked in a dispute over a 2,300-acre piece of land at Ramisi in Msambweni District that they claim the Government leased to both of them.

Kwale lands adjudication officer Samuel Odari told a meeting in Ramisi that the land was first leased to Tiomin Kenya Ltd and later to Kwale International Sugar Company last year, sparking the dispute.

The tussle was brought to the fore on Monday when Agriculture minister William Ruto and his Tourism counterpart Najib Balala toured the site of the sugar project at Ramisi.

Mr Odari said the Commissioner of Mines and Geology leased the plot to Tiomin, which is involved in the mining of titanium, while the Agriculture ministry leased the same land to Kwale International Sugar Company.

The land was part of the 15,000 acres the Government leased to the sugar firm last year to revive the Ramisi Sugar Factory that collapsed in 1988.

Revive project

"The Government redeemed the land from an Indian bank after the collapse of the sugar company. The land was then leased to Kwale International Sugar Company to revive the project," Mr Odari said.

"But before that happened, the Commissioner of Mines had already leased the same land to Tiomin, which used it to compensate squatters at Sh80,000 per acre, and was planning to mine titanium on the land," he said.

Mr Odari said the two firms had locked horns over Koromoja Dam, which is on the disputed plot, and called on the Agriculture minister to intervene.

The Kwale International Sugar Company agriculture manager, Mr Ambrose Abungu, said the double lease had made it difficult for the firm to use the land for cane farming.

He said the company could not access it since the mining firm had laid claim to it.

On hearing both sides, Mr Ruto: "I am confused over the issue. How can one piece of land be leased to two companies by the same Government? Is it my ministry which really did that? It's unbelievable."

The minister said he would consult with other officials to solve the dispute between the two firms amicably.

Eviction

Meanwhile, Msambweni district commissioner Gilbert Kitio was criticised for allegedly supervising the eviction of squatters in Ramisi without serving them with notices.

Area MP Omar Zonga said the DC permitted the sugar firm to displace villagers whose children could not attend school for three months following the abrupt evictions.