Land dispute puts young athletes in Mavoko at risk as court declares Sabaki field private

This decision by a Machakos Environment and Lands Court which declared the ground as belonging to a private individual, has threatened not only their participation in the Football Kenya Federation Premier League but also the future of talent development in the area.

“The Plaintiff claims the Defendants have trespassed on the suit land and erected goal posts thereon. Further, that in 2014, the Defendants had trespassed on suit land and damaged the boundary wall. DW1 in his testimony confirmed that the Defendants had entered the suit land and the youth were playing soccer thereon.

“Based on the evidence before me while relying on the decision cited, I find that the Plaintiff has fully demonstrated that the Defendants including their agents have indeed trespassed on the suit land,” read part of the ruling.

Moses Ngige, a football coach in Mavoko, expressed deep concern over the Sabaki pitch, which he describes as the last remaining public field in the area following the grabbing of others, including the Liberty Stadium in Mlolongo.

“We’ve been handed a major blow by this ruling and I don’t know where we will be playing our matches.”

The distressed coach warns that if the Sabaki pitch is lost, the future of the youth in the region hangs in the balance.

He fears that crime rates could rise sharply, citing the tragic example of eight young lives lost to crime after the Liberty Stadium and another field near the Mlolongo weighbridge were seized.

Chairperson of the Sabaki Residents Association, Japheth Nyambane, questions how a space that has been designated as a public utility for sports and used by the community for over 15 years could now be reallocated for private ownership and use.

On March 12 this year, the Machakos Lands Court reversed a 2018 ruling by Judge Angote, which had originally determined the land to be public. The latest decision now recognizes it as private property.

Syokimau/Mlolongo Ward MCA Daniel Ndwiki has urged the county and national governments to join the case as interested parties emphasizing that this intervention will protect young, passionate footballers from having their lives disrupted, while also demonstrating the government's resolve to curtail land grabbers.

The residents are now banking on Machakos Governor Wavinya Ndeti and the National Government as their only hope to intervene and reclaim the football pitch, previously considered public land

The residents, in a united effort, have now written a notice of appeal to the Judicial Service Commission to challenge the ruling, citing it as an injustice by the court.