EACC hands over Ksh.1.4B recovered Mombasa land, targets another Ksh.10.3B in ongoing crackdown

The Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) has surrendered a 2-acre parcel of public land in Mombasa to the Ministry of Lands and Housing after recovering it from private developers who had put up residential buildings on the site.

The parcel, part of properties worth Ksh.1.4 billion reclaimed in the Coast region over the last three years, had been grabbed and developed by three individuals before EACC moved in, demolished the structures and took back possession in 2024.

The Ministry of Lands and Housing has since proposed the development of 1,752 housing units on the property, including 1,674 residential units, under the affordable housing programme.

One of the major recoveries under the asset recovery programme is the Hobley Estate in Buxton, where 720 households are expected to benefit from a Ksh.500 million redevelopment plan.

The 4.8-acre parcel has already been flattened, with groundwork underway for the construction of the new housing units.

The handover is among several recoveries the Commission says it has made in Mombasa targeting land belonging to government agencies such as the Kenya Airports Authority, Kenya Ports Authority, Kenya Revenue Authority, Kenya Railways, Kenya Meat Commission, Kenya Wildlife Service, Kenya Urban Roads Authority and the County Government of Mombasa.

According to the Commission’s Coast Regional Office, EACC has filed more than 80 recovery suits in the last one year seeking to reclaim public assets valued at about Ksh.4.8 billion and is now pursuing an additional Ksh.10.3 billion worth of properties in the region.

Some of the ongoing claims involve parcels adjacent to Moi International Airport, land excised from public road reserves, and plots reserved for government housing projects, which the Commission says were irregularly acquired and registered in private names.

Speaking at the recovery sites in Mombasa on Tuesday, EACC CEO Abdi Mohamud maintained that asset recovery remains a key strategy in deterring corruption by removing benefits illegally obtained from public resources.

"The benefits of recovering these kinds of assets move down to the ordinary mwananchi because the houses built here will not only benefit one person but many families. The commission does not recover assets for the sake of it but to ensure they benefit the mwananchi," he said.

“This is not the only one in Mombasa, right now we have five other properties which we have recovered but there are others whose cases are still ongoing.”

During the site tour, the CEO also inspected other properties recovered through court processes and Alternative Dispute Resolution, among them a road reserve abutting Links Road in Nyali valued at Ksh.30 million, KAA land at Moi International Airport valued at Ksh.104 million, Kenya Railways land in Kizingo valued at Ksh.50 million, and two parcels along Mwambundu Road in Majengo worth Ksh.26.5 million.

The agency is encouraging individuals holding titles to public land to engage the Commission through ADR for the surrender and restoration of such property to the state.

EACC says it will continue to trace, seize and secure public assets to ensure they are used for their intended purpose.

"The Commission has currently prioritised asset recovery as a key way of dealing with corruption. When these properties are recovered, we hand them over to the government to use by the public," Mohamud noted.