State revokes titles of grabbed land set aside for public institutions

By Mutinda Mwanzia

The Ministry of Lands has revoked title deeds of illegally acquired land across the country.

At least 695 titles were issued for parcels of lands in major towns between April 2010 and June last year and published in several issues of the Kenya Gazette.

Among the land that had been grabbed included that set aside for an Airstrip in Ukunda Kwale, expansion of Machakos Prison, Kisumu Law Courts and Nakuru Municipality Water Treatment Plant.

In Kajiado, the Government revoked titles issued for land that had been set aside for Provincial Administration offices, car park and bus terminus in Ngong town.

In Nairobi, land reserved for expansion of Kenya Institute of Administration (KIE) Lower Kabete, the meteorological station in Dagoretti and open spaces in Woodley estate which had been grabbed by developers also had their titles revoked.

In Mombasa, titles revoked include those of land reserved for the Jomo Kenyatta Public Beach, Moi International Airport, Kenya Wildlife Services, the Kongowea market and the Kenya Civil Aviation Authority.

Registrar of Titles in Mombasa has revoked allocation of land reserved for the Customs and Excise Department, Kenya Revenue Authority, Government Training Institute, the law courts and Lands office which had been acquired by private developers.

Illegally excised

District Lands Registrar BK Leitich also revoked allocation of a public open space in Lake View Estate, Lower Kabete Road.

In Eldoret, the Government revoked titles for land illegally excised from the Kaptagat Forest and that of the Eldoret-Iten road reserve.

Other revocations of titles have been effected in Mavoko Municipality, where an exclusive report by The Standard revealed massive fraud in the allocation of public and private land in the area.

Yesterday, anxious residents in Mavoko continued to move from areas where the Government has vowed to evict those living in illegally acquired land.

Leaders led by Mavoko Municipal Mayor Patrick Makau met at the council hall to deliberate on the planned evictions.

Makau confirmed that tenants living in buildings put up in the illegally acquired land were moving to safer areas and landlords were at risk of losing their rental income.

"The tenants are even refusing to pay rent for December and this is fuelling tension. The situation is palpable," said Mr Makau.

He appealed to Government to implement the recommendations of the task force in a humane manner to avoid confrontation with locals.

Dismissed report

Copies of the Kenya Gazette and which are in our possession reveal that apart from Nairobi and Mombasa, other towns affected by the fraudulent land deals are Nakuru, Machakos, Kajiado, Kwale, Eldoret, Narok, Homa Bay, Kisii, Kisumu, Kakamega, Siaya, Kwale and Kitale,

Anxiety continued to grip owners of land in Mavoko Municipality following revelations that they acquired the property fraudulently.

The Taskforce Report on Irregular and Appropriation of Public Land and the Squatter Problem in Athi River has caused ripples among landowners, many holding forged title deeds.

The report has recommended that they be evicted following the discovery of massive fraud in the allocation of public and private land. Structures marked for demolition include buildings erected on land earmarked for Mavoko Stadium, which was grabbed and allocated to individuals.

Yesterday, a cross section of leaders from Ukambani dismissed the task force report terming it selective and aimed at covering the "real" land grabbers.

Former Kibwezi MP and The Independent Party leader Kalembe Ndile said that the grabbing of land in Mavoko was orchestrated by influential personalities in past and current regimes. "I am shocked that the report is going for the small fish while the big players in the land grabbing mania are still calling the shots," said Ndile.

He asked the Government to implement the Ndung’u Land Commission report which implicated prominent personalities serving in past and current regimes in grabbing of public land.

Professionals in the land sector have said that the report by the task force on the Mavoko land fraud was just a tip of the iceberg on what was happening in many urban areas.

Incidentally, sitting and former MPs from the region have been implicated by the report as among those behind land fraud in the area.

Former MP Kalembe Ndile and Democratic Party (DP) leader Joseph Munyao said the silence of the regions’ leaders especially on the Mavoko land fraud was suspect.

"Many are beneficiaries of the scam and they will be soon exposed ," said Ndile.

The task force has revealed that parcels of land belonging to public institutions, communities and individuals were illegally subdivided and sold to unsuspecting third parties in Athi River.