EACC recovers grabbed KAA land worth Ksh.104M in Mombasa

The Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) has recovered a parcel of public land in Mombasa valued at Ksh.104 million that was previously allocated irregularly to private individuals.

The court on Wednesday ruled that the land, registered as MN/VI/3748 and measuring 1.73 acres, belongs to the Kenya Airports Authority (KAA) and had been grabbed over three decades ago.

Justice Stephen Kibunja of the Environment and Land Court in Mombasa declared that the initial allocation to Agil Mahmoud, the then Provincial Physical Planner for Coast Province, was “irregular, fraudulent, illegal and consequently null and void.”

The land, which forms part of the larger Moi International Airport property previously known as Port Reitz Airport, was reserved for public use by the Government of Kenya and gazetted via notice No. 1161 on March 14, 1961.

EACC had moved to court in 2009 through its predecessor, the Kenya Anti-Corruption Commission (KACC) had successfully argued that the suit property had been excised from land registered as L.R MN/VI/3888, measuring 538.76 hectares, through an irregular and unlawful process.

The court at the time heard that the said parcel was created based on a “sketch” that lacked legal standing as a Physical Development Plan (PDP), contrary to legal procedures.

“What remains certain, indisputable and unchallengeable is the fact that the suit property was once public land… the 1st defendant did not have a good title to the suit property [and] he could not purport to transfer it to the 2nd defendant,” Justice Kibunja stated in his findings.

The second defendant, Academy Properties Limited, had claimed to have purchased the land from Mr. Mahmoud but failed to demonstrate that proper due diligence had been conducted on the root of the property’s title.

The court was categorical that, “Due process was not followed in the creation and allocation of the plot to the 1st defendant and he could not have transferred a good title to the 2nd defendant.”

As a result, the court ordered revocation of the certificate of lease, rectification of the land register, a permanent injunction restraining Agil Mahmoud and Academy Properties Ltd from dealing with the land in any way and transfer of the land back to the Government of Kenya.

The former Commissioner of Lands, Wilson Gachanja, was also sued for his role in facilitating the unlawful allocation.

While lauding the judgement, the Commission says it is pursuing 12 additional parcels of land excised from Moi International Airport, estimated to be worth over Ksh.2.5 billion.