A disputed land valued at Sh944 million in Nairobi's Donholm area belongs to investment firm Gidjoy Limited, a court heard on Monday.
National Land Commission vice-chairperson Abigail Mbagaya who was testifying before Milimani chief magistrate Lucas Onyina said the disputed parcel belongs to the company as per records with the commission.
She was testifying in a criminal case in which a former Kayole chief and three others were charged with land fraud amounting to Sh944 million.
Mbagaya who was being cross-examined by defence lawyer George Gilbert however told the court that no determination was made by NLC on the ownership dispute.
Asked whether she knew for a fact if the land in question belonged to Gidjoy Investment Ltd, which is the complainant in the criminal case, she affirmed that the suit property belonged to the investment firm.
"Yes, the land belongs to Gidjoy from what I can remember. I received some documents during the NLC hearing in 2016 before we were stopped by the court," she said.
In her previous testimony before the court, Mbagaya who was also the chair of the review of grants committee of the commission, revealed that the NLC received a complaint from the Nairobi county government to review the legality and propriety that the piece of land in question was public land.
She added that the commission through the committee invited parties to appear before it on January 14, 2016, to make a presentation on how they acquired the pieces of land.
"The commission listened to Gidjoy investment, county government of Nairobi, Sowesava self help group and other groups," Mbagaya testified.
In a witness statement, she told the court that she later learned that her former boss and chairman Mohammed Swazuri had decided on the same property through a Gazette Notice dated November 18, 2018.
"When it was brought to my attention that the chairman had gazetted the determination even though the matter was actively before the court, and the commission stood to be charged with contempt. I proceeded to reverse the illegal decision of the other chairman and stated the correct position of the commission that the matter was in court," she said in her statement.
She further clarified that there was a correction made through a corrigendum on the Kenya Gazette dated February 15, 2019, cancelling the determination of the commission on the dispute surrounding the gazette notice dated November 9, 2018.
The hearing continues on November 3.
In the matter, four officials of the Sowesava self-help group are facing charges of conspiracy to defraud Gidjoy Investment Limited of 11.8 Acres of parcels of land worth Sh944 million.
They include Patrobas Awino an organizing Secretary, a former Chief of Kayole in Nairobi, Alexander Hoops, Peter Gitau Muiruri, Peter Njoroge Kanika, and Patrobas Awino.
They are accused of conspiring to defraud the said company of the said property located in Donholm Nairobi by falsely pretending that they had a genuine title deed issued and signed by Rosemary Anyango Ngong’a, a Land’s Registrar.
The offence allegedly occurred on or about 28 November 2001 jointly with others who were not before the court.
The 11.8 Acres were; formerly Nairobi lock 82/7333 now part of the amalgamation of parcels Nairobi/block 82/7813 to Nairobi/block 82/7856.
The four are also accused of making false documents namely a Letter of Allotment and a Lease with intent to defraud the said company of the said land worth Sh944 million.
They also face a charge of forging a title deed purporting it to be a genuine title issued and signed by Rosemary Anyango on unknown dates jointly with others who are not before the court.
The court heard that they also forged another lease purporting it to be a genuine lease signed, stamped and executed by Ng’arua Kamuya Ng’arua an advocate of the High Court.
