- The complainants said the land was reserved for extension of Nyahururu Bus Park, which the traders were using
- The traders, led by chairman Peter Mwangi praised EACC for saving them from eviction
Image: FILE
The Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission has recovered and reverted 2.5 acres to the government.
The land, valued at Sh110 million, had been grabbed in Nyahururu, Laikipia county.
EACC said the land had been reserved for the Nyahururu bus park and had been irregularly acquired by private individuals.
Spokesperson Eric Ngumbi said the 12 private individuals had started to put up commercial buildings, including a mega shopping mall.
He said upon receipt of a complaint from mitumba traders, the commission launched investigations on February 21, 2022.
The complainants said the land was reserved for extension of Nyahururu Bus Park, which the traders were using.
The traders, led by chairman Peter Mwangi praised EACC for saving them from eviction.
He urged the commission to assist in recovery of all other grabbed properties.
Mwangi called upon the county government to build a modern bus park complete with business stalls for the traders.
“Were it not for determination and the zeal to pursue the matter, the land could have been grabbed thus denying traders a place to conduct businesses,” he said.
After confirming that there was unlawful alienation of land to favour private individuals, EACC reported the matter to Nyahururu Environment and Land Court.
The land in question had been donated by the Catholic Archdiocese of Nyeri to Ngare Naro Primary School in 1972.
However, in 1984 the now defunct Nyandarua county council, hived off two acres of the land for the expansion of the Nyahururu bus park.
The agreement was that the land be reverted back to the school, if is not used to expand the bus park.
Underhand dealings, however, saw the land subdivided into 12 portions and letters of allotment issued to private individuals.
EACC said the defendants, who were the allottees, agreed to voluntarily surrender title documents to the commission under alternative dispute resolution negotiations.
Six grabbers had jointly started to build a shopping mall and were at the foundation stage.
Following the finalization of the ADR Process in November 2023, the court delivered a consent judgement and issued declarations and orders revoking all the titles held by the 12 individuals.
The court further issued a permanent injunction restraining all the defendants, their agents, servants or any other person acting on their behalf from any dealings with the land parcels except by way of surrender back to the government.
The commission is currently in the process of transferring the land back to Laikipia government.
“The commission has since written to the Land Registrar to rectify the land register by cancelling all entries relating to the defendants and issue new titles in the name of Laikipia government, as ordered by the court," Ngumbi said.
“The Commission has 10 other recovery suits before the Nyahururu Environment and Land Court seeking recovery of government land and houses in Nyahururu.”
Among them is land worth Sh200 million hosting the Agricultural Mechanisation Services established in 1946 to support potato farmers through subsidised hire of plant and tractor services.
Three private developers have grabbed the land and obtained titles even with the machinery on site.