MOMBASA, Kenya — The Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) has secured two landmark court victories resulting in the recovery of public properties worth approximately Sh100 million that had been irregularly allocated to private entities in Mombasa and Kwale counties.
In a statement issued on Thursday, the Commission said the recovered assets include a government house in Kizingo, Mombasa, valued at Sh55 million, and a parcel of land reserved as a public beach access road in Diani, Kwale County, valued at Sh45 million.
The judgments, delivered by the Environment and Land Court in Mombasa and Kwale, also found government officials who facilitated the illegal allocations liable for the tort of misfeasance in public office, ruling that they acted in bad faith, unprofessionally and beyond the powers granted to them by law.
As part of the rulings, the court awarded Sh10 million in damages for each case to compensate the Government through the EACC for trespass and prolonged interference with public access, bringing the total damages awarded to Sh20 million. The defendants were also ordered to bear the costs of the suits.
The first recovered property is L.R. No. Mombasa Municipality/Block XXVI/933, a 0.253-acre parcel in the affluent Kizingo area of Mombasa Island. The property hosts a High Grade government house reserved for senior civil servants and managed by the Ministry of Lands, Public Works, Housing and Urban Development.
According to the EACC, investigations established that the property had been fraudulently allocated to a former Senior Resident Magistrate through a 99-year lease issued in 1998.
In its judgment delivered on July 17, 2026, the Environment and Land Court in Mombasa declared the lease and Certificate of Lease to have been fraudulently and corruptly obtained, rendering them illegal, null and void. The court ordered the cancellation of the title and permanently restrained the defendants from dealing with the property.
The second property, registered as L.R. No. Kwale/Diani Beach Block/1072, is a 1.14-acre strip of land extending from the Ukunda-Diani Road to the Indian Ocean, providing public access to Diani Beach.
The Commission said investigations revealed that the land had been unlawfully allocated to a private company through a 99-year lease issued in 1994.
In a judgment delivered on July 14, 2026, the Environment and Land Court in Kwale declared the lease and Certificate of Lease null and void, ordered the cancellation of all related land records and restored the property to public ownership.
The EACC said the judgments represent another milestone in its efforts to recover illegally acquired public assets and safeguard public property from unlawful alienation.
The Commission noted that the court’s decision to hold public officers personally liable for facilitating the fraudulent allocations sends a strong warning to government officials entrusted with managing public resources.
According to the EACC, it has recovered public assets worth more than Sh1.16 billion across the Coastal Region over the past three years, including land belonging to the Kenya Airports Authority, Kenya Railways Corporation, Kenya Meat Commission and the County Government of Mombasa.
The anti-graft agency reaffirmed its commitment to protecting public property and ensuring public resources are preserved for the benefit of all Kenyans.
