Two parcels of land that were irregularly hived off from land originally reserved for the residences of the Central Regional Commissioner and the County Criminal Investigations Officer, are among government properties valued at Sh5.2 billion that the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) is seeking to repossess from grabbers.
The land parcels in question are government land and houses that were disposed of in a back-handed manner and ended up in the hands of private individuals in several locations in Cenral Region.
Speaking during a press briefing in Nyeri, EACC’s spokesperson, Eric Ngumbi, said that the Commission has moved to the Environment and Land Court seeking orders to nullify fraudulently acquired land titles for public property worth Sh1.2 billion that is in the hands of grabbers.
In addition, the Commission is investigating properties worth Sh4 billion in Nyeri, Nanyuki, and Nyahururu for recovery.
Among the people implicated in the suits are a former Cabinet Secretary for Lands, a retired High Court Judge, a former Provincial Commissioner, and former Commissioners for Land.
“Those cases are pending before the Environment and Land Courts in Nyahururu, Nanyuki, and Nyeri. The cases seek to recover these properties and restore them to the government,” Ngumbi said.
In Nyandarua County, the EACC is pursuing a 50-acre parcel of the Njambini Agricultural Training Centre, where the Commission has opposed a bid by the Ministry of Agriculture to have the recovery case withdrawn.
According to Ngumbi, the Agriculture Ministry has sought to handle the matter administratively, but the Commission wants the title for the Njambini ATC, which is valued at Sh500 million, declared null and void.
“This is a case that had around 10 witnesses. Nine of them have already given evidence. There is an attempt by a sitting Cabinet Secretary to interfere with that process, and EACC is opposed to that attempt. We have told the court that we want the case to go up to its logical conclusion,” said Ngumbi.
Besides nullifying title deeds for the fraudulently acquired land, EACC will also be seeking orders directing the relevant Land Registrars to cancel all fraudulent entries in the land registers and issue new titles in the name of the Government. The Commission is also pursuing compensation for the period during which the illegal owners used the land to the disadvantage of the public.
Ngumbi also asked the private developers holding title deeds to surrender the documents to the Commission. He said that the EACC has created an Alternative Dispute Resolution Framework for those seeking to settle corruption cases outside court.
“Any person out there who is holding government land may consider approaching the Commission so that we can amicably settle the matter. We will assist them in returning the property because the Commission has an alternative dispute mechanism that can help them avoid costs and longtime entanglement in litigation,” said the spokesperson.
By Wangari Mwangi
