By Lilian Munini
All eyes are on the controversial Katelembu Athiani Muvuti Co-operative Society ahead of a Special General Meeting (SGM) with elections as the only agenda.
In a notice signed by Commissioner for Co-operative Development David K. Obonyo, members have been summoned to the Machakos Sub-County grounds on September 18, 2025 at 10:00 a.m. for the election of office bearers. The order stems from a tribunal judgment delivered on August 7 2025 by J Mwatsama in Nairobi CTC No. E177 of 2022, pitting members led by David Mutuku Kalanza against the current chairman Wilson Muema, aka Muthungulule, and other officials.
The elections come at a critical moment, as members await the long-promised issuance of title deeds, after which the society is expected to dissolve.
On the ballot is the future of long-serving chairman Wilson Muema, who has presided over the committee overseeing land allocations and the titling process. His leadership faces sharp scrutiny amid deep mistrust, with two equally powerful groups either supporting him or opposing him.
The cooperative has for decades been the epicentre of graft and land grabbing in Machakos, where senior government officials, county administrators, politicians, and businessmen have jostled to secure many parcels of land. Nearly all past Machakos District Commissioners, County Commissioners, senior police chiefs, and civil servants — including local and national co-operative officers — are alleged to own parcels either directly or through proxies.
It is a scenario that personifies what is known as conflict of interest.
Few believe that a cooperative officer presiding over the elections is not an owner by proxy of more than one-two acre parcels of Katelembu land.
Investigations and testimonies suggest that these parcels were wrestled from peasant farmers whose original records were erased. The society cannot truthfully present a genuine register of members because current officials have been scavanging in vain for such a document.
Many of the rightful owners have since been reduced to squatters on their land aquired through shareholding in what was a european settler’s farm, while new “owners” backed by official documentation assert ownership.
Past leaders of the society have died one after another under circumstances that locals describe as a “spell” cast on those who facilitated blatant theft of land and money.
Members claim that the plunder was not only protected by state agencies but also enabled the selling and transferring of land to outsiders, leaving the genuine owners dispossessed.
The disputes are further compounded by a growing population of squatters, now running into the fourth generation. These descendants, who have lived their entire lives on the cooperative’s sprawling farm, are demanding recognition of their land rights — creating an additional layer of conflict as the titling process inches forward.
The Commissioner’s intervention seeks to restore order and compliance with the Co-operative Societies Act, Section 27(8), which observers who know the depth of the Katelembu fiasco doubt will happen.
But with powerful political and commercial interests at stake, the upcoming elections are shaping up to be more than just a vote — they are a battleground over the future of land ownership in Machakos and a test of the government’s ability to somersault from its own mess and correct historical injustices.
Machakos Senator Agnes Kavindu has been pushing for compensation of hundreds of squatters on a part of the society where Miwongoni Dam works has stalled for years. Her role is usually cited as political interference in the affairs in society and, by extension, the stumbling block standing in the way of the dam.
“All members are welcome. Please carry your National Identification Card and members card for verification,” the Commissioner’s notice read.
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