The Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) has recovered 7.11 hectares of land that was previously grabbed from Karura Forest and the Kenya Technical Training College (KTTC).
The land, valued at Sh2.8 billion, is said to have been grabbed and allocated to former Environment Minister John Kamotho, also known as JJ.
According to EACC, “Nairobi Block 91/130 (approx. 0.566 ha) was reserved for KTTC. An additional 2.50 ha was illegally hived from Karura Forest and allocated to Kamotho. The said Nairobi Block 91/130 and the additional portion measuring 2.50 ha were amalgamated to form Nairobi Block 91/333.”
In 1994, Kamotho caused the combined piece of land to be registered under his company, Gigiri Court Limited, which he later sold together with the property to individuals identified as Mandip Singh Amrit and Manjit Singh Amrit for Sh6 million.
Subsequently, Gigiri Court Limited undertook a private survey of the property, during which an additional 3.8 ha was illegally hived off Karura Forest.
The Nairobi Block 91/333 and the extra 3.8 ha were then combined to create Nairobi Block 91/386, and a lease was illegally issued by former Lands Commissioner Wilson Gacanja in September 1995 to Gigiri Court Limited for residential use.
“Despite the suit property being public property, portions were unlawfully hived off and allocated to private persons through a series of illegal transactions between 1987 and 1995,” EACC CEO Abdi Mohamud stated.
This prompted an investigation and a court case that lasted 18 years.
Lands Court Justice David Mwangi, in his ruling, declared that the Certificate of Lease issued to Gigiri Court Limited was null and void and could not confer a valid title to private persons.
The court held that the land was alienated government land, and its allocation to Kamotho was contrary to the Forest Act and the Government Lands Act.
The court also found former Commissioners of Lands Wilson Gacanja and James Raymond Njenga personally responsible for the illegal allocation.
According to the anti-graft agency, the recovery is part of an ongoing process to reclaim public land that has been grabbed.
Other recoveries include a road reserve land worth Sh30 million that had been grabbed in Nyali, Mombasa, and a prime parcel of land worth Sh35 million belonging to the State Department for Housing and Urban Development, located next to the Bungoma State Lodge in the Milimani area, Bungoma Town, among others.
