Residents of Yala Swamp have appealed to President William Ruto to intervene and help them reclaim their ancestral land from investors, citing years of marginalization and unfulfilled promises.

​Speaking during a community consultative engagement at Musunguru in Kadenge, local representatives voiced deep frustration over land grabbing and restricted access to basic socio-economic amenities.

​Claus Omondi Okoth, a local resident, stated that the community has suffered immensely since investors took over the area. He noted that past generations of youth trained as mechanics, electricians, and drivers found employment, but current youth are denied opportunities.

​”We are calling upon our President, Mr. William Samuel Ruto, to help us and reclaim our land back because there are so many games that are being played here,” Okoth said. “He himself is the one who can help us, and we are requesting our president to intervene and help us.”

​Echoing similar sentiments, Angeline Adongo Ochieng passionately appealed to the Head of State to address their plight and protect the community’s future generations.

​Benard Ogeya Mungele, alias Shtua bin Shtua, Chairman of the Siaya, Kadenge, Seje, and Yimbo Community Members and Farmers of Yala Swamp (SIKASEYI), criticized the county government for failing to act on their grievances.

He noted that the community has written multiple letters to the governor’s office including a recent one on October 14 demanding the release of the land inventory as specified by the national government when land commissioners assumed office in January.

​”We are giving now a strict warning, a 14-day notice to the Governor of Siaya,” Mungele said. “If he cannot work on the inventory letter, we are giving him 14 days notice. If not so, then the legal process will take its course.”

​Mungele also highlighted that residents are being denied access to essential services and transport routes connecting schools, hospitals, and universities, and condemned the impounding of community livestock.

​Adding to the local anguish, Eunice Ombaka spoke on the heavy economic toll the situation has taken on families, noting that disrupted transport networks and constrained livelihoods have made it increasingly difficult to pay school fees and sustain daily life.

​The community maintains that Yala Swamp was gazetted in 1970 as community land for residents within its catchment, and they have vowed to push through legal and community action until their land is fully restored.