Court land allegedly grabbed by ex-magistrate handed back to Judiciary

A Kisumu court on Thursday ordered that a parcel of land allegedly grabbed from the Kisumu Law Courts by an ex-Magistrate be given back to the judiciary.

High Court judge Boaz Olao gave a verdict that the land belonged to the judiciary and ordered four of the defendants to pay for the costs of the suit.

The suit was filed by the Ethics and Anti-Corruption (EACC) in 2008 where six parties including a bank and a company were implicated in the illegal transfer of the judiciary land.

During the course of the proceedings, the court heard that now former Magistrate Charles Oyoo obtained the land before he sold it off to another person.

Justice Olao ruled that former magistrate Charles Oyoo abused the powers of his office and solicited for an allocation of part of the parcel from the commissioner of land.

In his defense, the former magistrate said that he was tricked into believing that the parcel of land was a vacant plot.

But Justice Olao dismissed his claims saying the land had been reserved for the judiciary since 1951.

The court also declared the title deeds that were obtained by three defendants who obtained the parcel in the transfer as null and void.

The parcel of land is situated where the new Kisumu High Court building is located and has been fenced off by the judiciary.