Nairobi County under probe for land scam

Nairobi Governor Evans Kidero’s government is under investigation over transfer of public land to private ownership [PHOTO: FILE/STANDARD]

Nairobi, Kenya: Nairobi County Government is now subject of investigation by the Ethics and Anti Corruption Commission (EACC) over alleged prime land scam.

The land in question is the Eastleigh open air market, which was a subject of controversy about five years ago, following attempts to transform it from public ownership to private property.

The accusation against Governor Evans Kidero’s administration is that the more than an acre piece of land has changed ownership, despite efforts by the Ministry of Lands and the former Nairobi City Council to protect it from being lost to private ownership.

The change of user is confirmed by a letter by the Nairobi County Government legal secretary Karisa Iha. Karisa’s letter addressed to Ahmednasir Abdikadir and Company advocates and which reads in part: “Your letter of February 14th addressed to H E the Governor on the above subject  (LR No.36.VII/1037 ORIGINAL 619/33) has been placed in my hands to reply thereto as follows: That the records held by the county and the latest search confirm that your clients are the registered and ratable owners of the above property...the county has no objection to your clients taking vacant possession of the premise subject to them discharging the court orders.”

A letter from EACC chairman, a copy of which we obtained, show that the commission took up the matter after it was brought to its attention by a law firm representing a company that went into a private public partnership with the then Nairobi City Council.

The letter reads in part, “This commission has noted the report contained in your letter regarding unlawful handling of public land. Irregular allocation into private proprietorship and occupation of a public utility land is a matter we must take seriously.”

The letter proceeds to say, “Action will be taken on your report and the matter will be inquired into…Ethics and Anti Corruption Commission (EACC) will be in touch with you in that regard.”

 The letter, dated May 13, and referenced ‘Fraudulent Transaction involving LR NO. 36/VII/1037 is addressed to Gitau Gikonyo and Company Advocates who, apparently, was the whistleblower.

Unlawful handling

However, Karisa told The Standard on Saturday that the county government had not received any communication from EACC in regard to the land in question.

“We have not received any letter from EACC in the regard,” he said.

The controversy over the land started in 2008, when the Nairobi City Council advertised and awarded a public private partnership deal to a private contractor, Golden Lime International Limited to develop the property.

This followed request by Council Social Services and Housing committee for submission of proposals for redevelopment of the said property.

Only two companies bid for this job, Golden Lime International Limited and Blue Seal Shopping Mall Limited.

A full council meeting would follow on November 18, 2008, and essentially resolved that the redevelopment deal be awarded to Golden Lime International Limited.

However, the competitor, Blue Seal Shopping Mall unsuccessfully challenged the process of award of the construction works to a rival company in the High Court.

The High Court decision has now been challenged in the Court of Appeal.

The court has since ordered stay of the status quo, meaning that the county government cannot proceed to execute the private public partnership neither can the public utility property transform to private ownership.

However, according to Gitau Gikonyo and Company Advocates compliant to the EACC, irrespective of the court order restraining all the parties involved from further action on the land, the country government has proceeded to approve construction plans for a different company.

The Standard on Saturday established that one of the directors of Golden Lime International Limited, Mohamud Sheikh Hussein has since filed a sworn affidavit raising the above matter.

The affidavit reads in part, “In total disregard of the subsisting status quo orders and the injunction issued by the court of appeal, the first defendant has colluded with the 2nd defendant and purported to approve building plans for redevelopment of the suit property illegally and fraudulently submitted to the 1st defendant by the 2nd defendant.”

It will be noted that the county government initially defended the plot to be a public property.

In a letter dated April 9, the county government wrote to Hassan N Lakicha and company advocates saying, “As you are aware, there has been an order of maintenance of status quo in this matter which extends to the agreement. The county has therefore not cancelled the agreement.”

Fraudsters

 “In any case, if the second defendant knew or believed the suit property to be validly registered in their names, Mr Farah Mohammed Barrow through Blue Sea Shopping Mall Limited would not have applied to the 1st Defendant to develop what he knew and or believed was his own property,” adds Mohamud Sheikh Hussein in his affidavit.

On February 15, 2007, M N Ngethe, then director of legal affairs in the Nairobi City Council, raised the matter of the market with the Chief Lands Registrar in a letter referenced LR NO 36/VII/1037 saying: “The above property is a market. It’s a public utility. Information reaching this office is that lease has been issued and the same was fraudulently obtained and the same should be revoked immediately,” she said.