The Catholic church in Homa-Bay has locked horns with the National government over the ownership of a piece of land which the Church accuses the State of encroaching into for the construction of a state Lodge.
The church says land, which is directly opposite St. Paul’s Academy is owned by them and should not be taken away by the state.
The ongoing construction has already displaced some families which lived within and near the disputed piece of land.
St. Paul’s Catholic Parish Priest Fr. Romanus Ageng’a accuses the government of violating human rights when families within the area were asked to leave in the middle of the night, adding that the affected families should have been given adequate time to look for a place to move to.
Father Ageng’a claims the project has taken part of the land that belongs to the church without communicating to them before the land was fenced.
Hom Bay County Commissioner Moses Lilan says the complaints by the church and the alleged evicted families have not been formally presented to his office.
He however says the land which the families occupied belongs to the government and it will be used for the purpose it was intended for.
