“We Have Been Patient for a Long Time”: An Anglican Diocese Evicts More Than 100 Families From Eldoret Land

• More than 100 families were evicted from Kipkaren Estate in Eldoret, Kenya
• The Anglican Church of Kenya’s Eldoret diocese says the land is legally its own
• Residents say they have lived there for over 50 years and were shown no court order
• Human rights groups are backing a court challenge

More than 100 families in Kipkaren Estate, Eldoret, woke to an eviction in March 2026 that left many of them sleeping under plastic sheets. The Anglican Church of Kenya’s Eldoret diocese says the land belongs to it, and the Daily Nation reported that its bishop, Christopher Ruto, defended the operation.

Residents described a dawn raid by men they called hired goons. “They didn’t show us any court order. They just started kicking doors,” said Mary Juma, a mother of four. Dinah Watora, 72, said: “This has been my home for the last 50 years. All five of my children were born here.” A 70-year-old neighbour, Japheth Matebe, was taken to Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital after his blood pressure spiked during the eviction.

The families say they have occupied the land for more than half a century and inherited it from a colonial-era settler, and that they never received formal notice to leave. The diocese sees it differently. “As a church, we have been patient for a long time. They should not seek sympathy,” Bishop Ruto said, adding that the eviction was “conducted in an orderly and humane manner” and that the church would publish documents supporting its ownership.

Human rights groups in Uasin Gishu County have pledged to support the residents’ plan to go to court on the strength of their long occupation. “Even in land disputes, the law is clear on how evictions should be conducted,” one rights representative said, pointing to the procedure required before anyone is removed from a home.

The case sits on the same fault line that runs through many Jamaican church-land disputes: a title held on paper by a church, and families who have lived on the land for decades and believe time has made it theirs. Kenya shows how quickly such a standoff can turn into bulldozers and plastic sheeting when it is left unresolved. For Jamaican churches with occupied land, and for families living on church property, the lesson is to settle the question of title, tenancy or sale early and in writing, long before either side reaches for force or the courts.

Follow Jamaica Homes on Youtube @jamaicahomes and Instagram @jamaica_homes and on Facebook @jamaicahomesnews Send us a message or email us at onlinefeedback@jamaica-homes.com or editor@jamaica-homes.com