NAIROBI, Kenya – A parliamentary probe has revealed that 34 acres of land reserved for the expansion of Lang’ata Women’s Prison were illegally grabbed, sold, and developed into private estates — despite the land still being legally part of Ngong Forest.
The National Assembly’s Committee on Implementation is investigating how the land, originally earmarked for prison use, was allocated to companies and a former legislator before being transferred to third parties who have since built residential estates.
During a session chaired by Budalang’i MP Raphael Wanjala, the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) presented documents tracing the fraudulent allocations.
According to George Kisaka from the DCI, the land was never de-gazetted as required by law, making all subsequent transfers and developments illegal.
“The land in question was not de-gazetted in accordance with Section 4 of the repealed Forest Act of 1942,” the DCI report stated.
The disputed 34 acres were split among three original allottees — two companies and a former MP — who then subdivided and sold the parcels.
Among the beneficiaries were estates such as Shalom Court, Lang’ata Gardens, Lang’ata View, and St Mary’s Educational Centre Hospital.
Records show that:
- Arladyks Investments Limited received a portion in 1994, later passing it to Jackim Limited, which sold it to the Kenya Medical Association Housing Cooperative Society. The cooperative subdivided the land into 113 plots, where residential units still stand.
- Prilscot Company Limited was allocated land in 1993, later sold through Gravity Exporters Limited to the Assumption Sisters of Nairobi in 1999.
- A former MP acquired another parcel in 1993, subdivided it into 11 plots, and sold it to various developers, leading to the creation of gated estates.
The DCI report further implicated officials from the Commissioner of Lands, the Chief Conservator of Forests, and the Commissioner of Prisons in the irregular transfers.
Despite approvals issued between 1985 and 1993, the land remains gazetted as forest land, meaning all private developments sit on public land illegally.
Efforts to unravel the scandal have been hampered by missing files at the Ministry of Lands and unresponsive state agencies.
Kisaka told MPs that records from the 1980s and 1990s could not be traced, while requests to the judiciary and the Government Printer for archival proclamations remain unanswered.
The parliamentary committee has now directed investigators to summon former senior officials from the Lands, Forests, and Prisons departments who served between 1985 and 1998. The DCI has two months to present a progress report.
The revelation leaves Lang’ata Women’s Prison, which houses about 1,000 inmates, without the land originally meant for its expansion.
