President Mwai Kibaki today said the infamous land clashes of the 1990’s should never be allowed to occur in the country again and pledged the government’s commitment to the protection of people and their property. Noting that Kenyans were free to own property anywhere in the country, the President assured landowners that they will not be molested again. Said the president “ I wish to assure land owners of government’s protection and urge them to develop their farms freely, so that they can contribute to our strategic food reserve.” He said the government will issue titles deeds to land owners throughout the country to enable them put it to productive use. The President was addressing wananchi when he made stopovers at Sipili, Kinamba and Kwa Wanjiku Centres in Laikipia District on his way to Nyahururu stadium for a public rally. Speaking at Sipili, the President told the residents that the Government had reduced the charges for title deeds and they will now be required to pay Ksh 500 down from the usual fee of Ksh 1,300. He directed Lands and Housing Minister Amos Kimunya to speed up the issuance of title deeds so that residents could develop their pieces of land immediately. The Minister, who was present, assured the President that the ministry had already initiated the process of providing the title deeds and was only waiting for the residents to pay the required fees. “Once you get the title deeds, you should get down to work and produce as much food as you can to reap maximum benefits from the land you own,” the President told wananchi. On the rampant destruction of crops by wild animals in the area, President Kibaki asked the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) personnel to ensure the menace was stopped once and for all. He said wild animals should be confined in the game reserve instead of being allowed to cause undue suffering to wananchi. “Although the wild animals are part of our natural resources, they should not be allowed to destroy crops and property. If need be, more KWS personnel should be posted in the area to ensure the residents are fully protected from the wild animals,” he stressed. The President, therefore, urged wananchi to settle down and work hard on their farms to increase production as the government was doing everything to assist them. He warned against the consumption of illicit brews, saying the vice was counter productive and went against his call to Kenyans to work hard to improve the economy. The head of state reiterated his call to parents to ensure they took full advantage of the free primary education programme to take their children to school. He said: “As the Government has removed the burden of paying for primary school education, parents should ensure they provide their children with other basic needs including clothes.” “You should also ensure your children go beyond the primary school level,’’ the President told parents.. On infrastructure development in the area President Kibaki urged leaders to identify and priorities the roads that should be rehabilitated to the benefit of wananchi, since the government had limited resources and could not repair all roads at ago. On the HIV/AIDS pandemic President Kibaki urged all Kenyans to join the war against the scourge by protecting themselves against it and preventing its spread. Later while addressing a public rally at Nyahururu Stadium, President Kibaki urged leaders to be nationalists. Saying that leaders should not cocoon themselves in their areas of origin, the president urged them to spread their services across the country. “ Don’t be proud of yourself as a person but be proud of Kenya as your country,” he added. He reminded Kenyans to entrench the culture of a working national amongst themselves so as to improve on national productivity. The President announced that Nyahururu District hospital will be expanded to cope with the increasing demand for medical services in the area. The President was accompanied by First Lady Lucy Kibaki, Ministers Chris Murungaru, Amos Kimunya, Peter Ndwiga, Assistant ministers Mwangi Kiunjuri, Joshua Toro and all the local Members of Parliament.