MOMBASA, Kenya — The Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) has secured a court order paving the way for the recovery of public land valued at Sh25 million that was allegedly illegally converted for private use near the University of Nairobi Mombasa campus.
The disputed parcel, Mombasa Municipality/Block XIX/305, is located along Machakos Road and originally formed part of a public road reserve that served as an access route to the university campus.
EACC investigations established that the road reserve was unlawfully excised from Machakos Road and allocated to the late Ezekiel Luyali, who was a councillor at the then Municipal Council of Mombasa.
Court Declares 1994 Lease Null And Void
The Environment and Land Court in Mombasa, in a ruling delivered on September 24, found that the parcel had been illegally and fraudulently alienated in 1994.
The court declared the lease and survey plan used to create the parcel null and void, holding that the statutory procedure for closing a public road under the then Local Government Act had not been followed.
The court found there was no evidence of Gazette notices announcing an intention to close the road or a valid and approved Part Development Plan preceding the alienation.
There was also no council or committee resolution approving the allocation, nor evidence of approval by the Minister for Local Government for the purported 99-year alienation.
Former Mombasa Officials Implicated
EACC’s investigations further established that the allocation was facilitated by David Kalume Randu, who served as Town Clerk, and Ahmed Mwidhani, the then Mayor of Mombasa.
The allocation took effect on June 1, 1994, followed by the issuance of a lease dated September 1, 1994. The lease was registered the following day.
After completing its investigations, EACC filed the case at the Mombasa Law Courts.
The court subsequently held that the 1994 alienation was illegal and fraudulent and that EACC had demonstrated its claim for recovery of the property and the reliefs it sought.
Land Records Ordered Cancelled
The court directed the Chief Land Registrar to rectify the relevant register by cancelling entries relating to the lease.
It also declared Survey Plan Folio Register (F/R) No. 264/37, which created the disputed parcel, null and void and directed the Director of Surveys to cancel and expunge it.
A permanent injunction was also issued restraining the first defendant, his servants, agents or assigns from selling, charging, leasing, transferring, disposing of, wasting or otherwise dealing with the property.
The lease dated September 1, 1994, and registered on September 2, 1994, was declared incapable of conferring any interest in the property.
The judge affirmed that public land reserved for public use must be managed in accordance with the law and cannot be converted into private property through unlawful allocation.
Following the ruling, EACC urged public officers and institutions entrusted with managing public land to exercise their mandates within the law and safeguard public resources.
