Khetias Supermarket in Kisumu has been given 90 days to vacate the building it occupies as the county begins repossessing grabbed land.
Acting city manager Abala Wanga said the outlet had been given a notice to vacate the building. He said the parcel in which the building is located belongs to the county government based on the records.
Wanga said Khetias, which has two outlets, does not own the building next to Kisumu’s main bus park. The building also sits partly on a drainage system that interferes with the sewer line, he said.
“The outlet is only a tenant. They are paying rent to a private developer who owns the building,” he said on Sunday while inspecting the city.
The supermarket management has requested the city to give them three months to look for alternative space, he said.
After they vacate, he said, the building will be pulled down to pave the way for planned projects.
Wanga, who led a team of city officials, toured various grabbed properties targeted for repossession.
He was accompanied by city engineer Kevin Ajul, planner Stephen Sule, head of environment Bernard Ojwang and inspectorate boss Samuel Orimba.
Wanga said the county is committed to promoting investments but urged investors not to be duped by cartels who have grabbed or illegally acquired public property.
The city manager announced that they have identified 52 parcels of land, which were either grabbed or illegally acquired by individuals.
"Some of these land title deeds are yet to be transferred while others have been changed to individual ownership," Wanga said.
He appealed to the Land registry in Kisumu to desist from issuing title deeds to stolen property.
The grabbers, he said, include former powerful politicians, ministers who colluded with former councillors and former municipal staff to allocate their homes and lands.
Others were private developers who were irregularly awarded huge chunks of public land.
Some lands were grabbed and illegally acquired in the 1970s, 1980s and 1998.
Wanga said based on the Ndung'u Commission’s report and county land task force report, they will not relent on repossessing all the property belonging to the county.
So far, the county has reclaimed one public land parcel which had been grabbed by a developer.
He cautioned those who had grabbed the county's properties to surrender them before forcible repossession. These include parking lots, playgrounds, recreational parks and city houses.
Wanga said they are going to start first with influential people who have grabbed public property in the city. Those who have grabbed public land and built houses on them will not be spared.
“We have compiled a list of grabbed properties, with repossession in progress,” Wanga said.
