Nairobi — Residents of Loresho in Nairobi have pledged to lodge a complaint to the National Land Commission(NLC) over alleged grabbing of public land meant for recreational activities.

The residents on Thursday demanded relevant agencies to probe the alleged grabbing of over 6 acres piece of the community land by unknown private developer.

They claimed that the developer has already acquired some parts of the land that was set aside by the government for community development including construction of social amenities.

"We had a reserved piece of land here for recreational purposes.This parcel of land has been eyed by land grabbers for a very long time.Already a portion of it which was reserved for nursery school was grabbed by some people who build a private house ," said Jeff Ruseno a resident in the area.

"We are calling upon our leaders in Nairobi to stand with the Loresho community in defending this land.There has been no public participation on the latest development of the land."

Paul Ndung'u a resident in the area said grabbers have started building houses structures on the parcel of land that was earlier offered by the residents for construction of a police post to boost security in the area.

The former chairman of the Commission on inquiry into illegal allocation of public land stated that the private developer acquired the land illegally and has started erecting foundation structures on the disputed land.

"We knew this land here was for the police but we noticed that somebody arrived and started digging trenches across the whole place.We will not allow any grabber to take this land which was designed for public purpose," he stated.

Residents revealed that they have plans to develop a community recreational centre including a park and a walk way.

The high court had earlier ruled in favor of the residents that the disputed land is part of public land but the private developer challenged the ruling in the Court of Appeal and the decision was revoked.