The Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) is pursuing the recovery of six (6) prime parcels of public land in Kericho Town with an estimated market value of Sh400 million.
The commission says the properties were grabbed by private developers in Kericho in collusion with some land officials.
The property belongs to the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS).
EACC South Rift regional manager Ignatius Wekesa says the land, which originally measured 2.5 acres, was subdivided into 6 plots and transferred to private developers.
"Investigations undertaken by the Commission have revealed that at the time of the allocation of the land to private individuals, the land was already Government property and as such, it was not available for allocation to the current owners or any other person and therefore, all the transactions were fraudulent and illegal," Wekesa said.
Upon completion of the investigations, the EACC says it commenced recovery of the land by filing a suit before the Kericho Environment and Land Court.
The Commission obtained Court Orders on July 31, prohibiting the current 'owners' from any dealings on the land until the case is heard and determined.
In the recovery suit, EACC is asking the Court to nullify all the transactions leading to the transfer of the land, cancel all illegal entries in the Kericho Land Register and order that a new Title Deed be issued in the name of the Government
"EACC calls upon all other grabbers in possession of public land in this region to voluntarily surrender the same back to the Government instead of waiting for EACC to come for it at a great cost to them," Wekesa said.
"The Commission will not only seek forfeiture of the grabbed land but will pursue prosecution of all individuals involved in the fraudulent land dealings."
