MPs are mulling over inviting investigative agencies to probe an alleged plot by insiders at the National Land Commission to alienate prime land belonging to Kenyatta International Convention Centre.
Members of the National Assembly’s Public Investments Committee on Commercial Affairs and Energy want the NLC chiefs to explain why it handed over the land to the Nairobi county.
KICC falls under the national government.
This is after it emerged that NLC had written to the county government as the vesting authority for the land, where Garden Square restaurant and Comesa parking lot sit.
This means the county government holds the power to decide who is allocated the land.
An executive at the county can request NLC to carry out the reallocation.
The committee led by Pokot South MP David Pkosing is asking why NLC acted in favour of ‘cartels’ interested in the disputed land.
The court said in July 2022, that Garden City remits rent to the National Land Commission for onward transfer to the county government of Nairobi.
The court directed that NLC allocates the disputed land to the rightful owners, after which KICC applied for ownership of the land.
It has since emerged that Garden Square management also approached NLC requesting to be allocated the land.
Instead of responding to the requests, NLC wrote to the county government – as owner of the land, to decide who should be allocated.
“NLC must declare interest in this matter. There is suspicion that needs to be investigated. We see a game here. You cannot imagine that KICC has no title for its land,” Pkosing said.
“There are some people who are working with cartels on this matter. We will not shy from inviting the DCI to take statements from the concerned parties so that they tell us their interest."
MPs have given the NLC bosses one week to prepare a solid response on the claims before the committee sits next week Thursday.
As a result, MPs have ordered a stop to any activities regarding reallocation of the land, including one near the Foreign Affairs office.
The lawmakers were concerned that NLC chairman Gershom Otachi and CEO Tabale Tache skipped the meeting that had weighty questions.
Commissioner Reginald Okumu represented NLC at the meeting.
“Where is the chairman and CEO of the land commission?” Pkosing asked, saying matters before the committee were better responded to by the bosses.
Among MPs present at the meeting were Minority leader Opiyo Wandayi (Ugunja), Laikipia North MP Sarah Korere, Maryanne Kitany (Aldai), Charo Tungule (Ganze), Ronald Karauri (Kasarani) and Paul Katana (Kaloleni).
The main question by the lawmakers was how NLC concluded that the land was vested in the county government and not the national government.
MPs also questioned how KICC can only hold the title for the tower but not the Comesa grounds - including Garden Square, the courtyard where the Jomo Kenyatta monument stands and the portion next to the MFA offices.
“NLC has disregarded the history of the land and given the county government the go-ahead. It has given up on its mandate. There must be some vested interests for them to arrive at that conclusion. It is not acceptable. Suspect issues are happening,” Karauri said.
MPs further asked why NLC took inordinately long before responding to KICC and Garden Square, only to write to the county government after Parliament sought answers in a letter on January 31.
“This is why we are considering, among our options, calling in a competent authority to take a statement from the NLC commissioners. They should state in writing, before a competent authority, what their interest in this land is,” Pkosing said.
“To an extent of commission interpret a court ruling in the advantage of cartels? This is unacceptable. Why not ask even the Ministry of Lands?”
In granting the commissioners a window before the detectives are called in, MPs have cautioned the NLC “not to entertain anything, particularly alienating or assigning anybody the disputed land.”
Wandayi said there was "a pattern of deliberate frustration towards KICC from acquiring the land.”
“They are agents to help grab the land by some powerful characters at the expense of KICC,” he said.
“If we do not restrain them, some development could follow.”
The meeting also heard that since the court ruling, the occupant of the Garden Square land has not paid any money to NLC as ordered.
"It is important that the history be told so that we know who NLC should write to. We need a register to tell us who this land belongs to,” Kitany said.
The committee’s concern is that KICC has been sidelined in the communication between the commission and the county government.
KICC acting CEO Patricia Ondeng’ said the centre was not copied in the NLC letter to the county government.
NLC’s Okumu said that the commission can only allocate a parcel at the request of the CEC or the Land minister.
“The court declared this to be their land [county’s] and the judgment has not been appealed,” he said.
“The county government can ask us to allocate the land...we cannot direct the county on what to do. As NLC, the initiation of this allocation needs to come from the county government,” Okumu said.