Two Killed in Deadly Land Clash in Meru

Two men have died following a violent clash over a contested piece of land in the Mikinduri area of Tigania, Meru County, police have said.

Authorities reported that the men were among a group allegedly hired to help remove a woman from the disputed land when they were confronted by local residents on January 28. The residents opposed the eviction, insisting it was illegal since a court case over the land’s ownership was still ongoing.

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According to residents, no court orders had been issued to authorize any eviction, and tensions escalated after claims emerged that the group planned to set the woman’s house on fire.

Police said members of the group were armed with bows and arrows and tried to resist during the confrontation. In the chaos that followed, two of the men were seriously injured after being attacked with stones and later died.

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Their bodies were later found in a nearby tea plantation and moved to a mortuary as police await postmortem results. Detectives have since visited the scene, and investigations into the incident are continuing.

Police noted that similar cases involving hired groups carrying out evictions during land disputes have been reported in different parts of the country. In several instances, such evictions are allegedly conducted without valid court orders, often resulting in violence and injuries.

Authorities said they are probing multiple related incidents, some of which have caused serious harm to both eviction enforcers and affected residents. In addition, property worth millions of shillings has been destroyed in such disputes, prompting renewed calls for decisive action to curb the trend.

In a separate incident in Githinguri, Murang’a County, an 80-year-old man died after a fire broke out at his home. Police identified him as Elizaphan Macharia, who was reportedly asleep when the fire started on Wednesday.

The cause of the blaze had not yet been determined, and his body was taken to the mortuary for an autopsy.

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