Controversy has rocked the alleged re-allocation of a parcel of land belonging to the Kenya Railways to a private developer in Nairobi’s Industrial Area.
The re-allocation of the land, measuring about four acres, has triggered an uproar among the neighbouring industries.
Owners of the neighbouring industries said Kenya Railways has allocated the parcel a developer who has covered the drainage and sewer lines.
The affected industries include East African Breweries Limited, Associated Battery Manufacturers, British American Tobacco and Print Pak, among others.
"We are perturbed by the happenings. They have already backfilled the area and we are worried that in case of any downpour, our drainage will be affected," ABM Engineering Manager Wilson Olando said.
Despite expressing their reservations to Kenya Railways, no prompt response has been given and the developer has continued to build structures.
"The development is illegal; the developer has gone ahead even without the Environmental Assessment Report has not been done. Everything is continuing normally despite us raising serious concerns," Olando said.
However, Kenya Railways MD Phillip Mainga denied allocating the parcel to said developer, saying the claims are misleading and ill-informed.
"No. We have not given anyone that land. That is our land. If the neighbours are raising issues about drainage, that is the role of other government agencies," he said.
Kenya Railway has not received any complaint from the management of the neighbouring industries, he added.
"This issue has been all over but I keep saying, the land is ours. We have not given it to anyone," he said.
When the Star visited the scene, three men believed to be the new owners of the land were hostile and did not respond to questions put to them.
The alleged developer did not respond to our calls when reached through the company contacts obtained by the Star.
This is not the first time Kenya Railways has been on the spot over alleged irregular allocation of land.
Last year, it emerged that the authority had allocated more than 544 parcels of public land to individuals.
A report of the audited accounts of KRC for the financial year 2018-19 found the Commissioner of Lands and the defunct local authorities allocated the land to third parties without the consent of the corporation.
They include a three-acre piece of land at the Limuru Railway Station, a two-acre piece at the Kikuyu Railway Station and parcels of land adjacent to the Mombasa station measuring between 0.75 and one acre.
"Further, another 529 parcels of land have been illegally allocated across the country," read the Auditor General's report.
"However, management has sought court intervention to repossess twenty-seven (27) parcels of land."
Mainga has previously held that the land was lawfully leased for development and the corporation was accruing income.
He explained that in the case of Limuru, 1.05 out of 40 acres were awarded for go-downs. The land, he said, was later subdivided into eight industrial plots.
"Kenya Railways issued leasehold grants to interested developers for the development of go-downs and warehouses for a term of 99 years with effect from June 1, 1948,” he had said.
“The leases were later registered with the Commissioner of Lands. The grantees pay basic land rent to the corporation which holds the freehold interest over the properties.”