Police arrest South Afriican Arie Dampers, the Managing Director in charge of Deputy President William Ruto's Kisima Farm in Taita Taveta Couty

DP Ruto’s senior employee arrested

Charles Ouma

February 1, 2020 10:17 AM

His arrest is in connection with the latest scandal to rope in DP Ruto's name

File image of DP Ruto

Police have arrested the Managing Director in charge of Deputy President William Ruto's farm.

Reports indicat that police pounced on Arie Dampers, a South African National in charge of the vast farm on Friday. 31 January 2020.

His arrest is in connection with alleged illegal water connections in Taita Taveta County.

Area residents had complained that water that was previously serving them had been diverted to the vast Kisima farm, leaving them in anguish.

The DP is said to have bought an expansive ranch from former Taveta MP Basil Criticos and has engaged in livestock farming.

The Taita Taveta county government has moved to court, accusing Ruto of diverting the main waterline that serves villagers in Mara villagers straight to his farm.

County intervenes

Residents have been left thirsting and complaining after their attempts to storm the highly secured farm were thwarted by the ranch’s management.

DP Ruto when he toured Taita Taveta county and held talks at his vast ranch Pulse Live Kenya

The Water County Executive Gasper Kabaka said health facilities and schools in the area had been adversely affected by the diversion of a public water line to the DP’s private farm.

The Nation reported that police are looking to arrest the farm’s manager, Arie Dempers, over the incident.

Taita Taveta county has a long history of tense relations between landlords who own vast ranches in the county and the locals who are mainly squatters.

Criticos, who sold part of his ranch to Ruto, is one of the biggest land owners in the county - at one time owning 72,000 acres. He has since shed off some of the land to other ranch owners and also donated a thousand acres to deal with squatters who have for years invaded his expansive farms.

Charles Ouma