President William Ruto’s acquisition of a 900-acre ranch in Kilgoris, Narok County, has sparked widespread discussion on social media platforms.The expansive Intona Ranch has been variously been described as the new centre of power, where the president holds high level meetings.
In this article, WoK looks at how Ruto acquired the ranch that was owned by the late former Vice President Joseph Murumbi.
Background of the Intona Ranch
The property was allocated to Joseph Murumbi on February 9, 1977, by the Narok County Council. He envisioned transforming the farm into an experimental dairy enterprise. As a result, the locals granted him 2,064 acres, with his company, Intona Ranch, registered as the land’s owner. Murumbi was of mixed heritage, half Maasai and half Goan.
The ambitious Murumbi went on to build a four bedroom Spanish style bungalow, with a farm manager’s house, a guest wing and an airstrip.
Purchase Details
Murumbi’s troubles began when he took a Ksh 8.6 million loan from the Agricultural Finance Corporation (AFC) to finance agricultural activities. Unable to repay the loan due to ill health and with the corporation pressuring him, his wife Sheila reached out to his political contacts for assistance. To his dismay, AFC had already sold the land to itself.
By the time the sale was finalized, Murumbi was confined to a wheelchair. After his death, the local community sought to have the land returned to them.
Ruto Purchases the Ranch
According to the Trusted Society of Human Rights, the land LR NAROK/TRANSMARA/INTONA/2 was sold to North Mogor Holdings (NMH) on behalf of the President, who was then the Deputy President. On September 7, 2015, five days after NMH was registered, the company wrote to AFC requesting to purchase 976 acres from Intona Ranch.
This request was considered, and a sum of Ksh 63,440,000 was agreed upon, to be settled within 90 days. A 25% down payment of Ksh 15,600,000 was required. Interestingly, only Ksh 634,000 was paid as stamp duty on November 13, 2015.