Meria
Elder Lister
The government has recovered 12-acre piece of land that was fraudulently gifted to a Kanu-era politician in the 1990s.
The land had been reserved for use by the East African Customs and Excise Department (the predecessor to the modern-day Kenya Revenue Authority) to build a watchtower and a resting place for officers on patrol.
It was later illegally allocated to Kilifi politician Kennedy Mohamed Sheikh Ali, now deceased, by the then Commissioner of Lands through Kilifi District Commissioner Wilson Gacanja for “doing a lot for the party but has not enjoyed the fruits of uhuru”.
The property, which had been designated as a customs department area, is situated close to Mtwapa Creek. Mr Ali then sold the property to former KRA employee Francis Githui Wahome, who then processed and acquired the title for it.
He subdivided it into plots and transferred it to Frann Investment Ltd, a company he co-owned with his wife and three sons. The company developed a five-story building comprising 10 flats.
But the Environment and Land Court sitting in Mombasa has now nullified the title issued to Mr Wahome, a former preventive officer, and directed that the ownbership of the land revert to the government after finding that it was not available for allocation at the time it was purportedly given to Mr Ali .
Justice Sila Munyao ruled that, where public land had been assigned for a specific purpose and for as long as the need remains, that land cannot be alienated for private use. The judge has therefore directed the alleged “innocent” purchasers — Frann Investments Ltd , Mr Wahome, Mr Victor Wahome, Mr Edward Kagume and Mr David Mwangi — whom the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) had sued, to demolish the developments on the land and leave within 30 days.
The land had been reserved for use by the East African Customs and Excise Department (the predecessor to the modern-day Kenya Revenue Authority) to build a watchtower and a resting place for officers on patrol.
It was later illegally allocated to Kilifi politician Kennedy Mohamed Sheikh Ali, now deceased, by the then Commissioner of Lands through Kilifi District Commissioner Wilson Gacanja for “doing a lot for the party but has not enjoyed the fruits of uhuru”.
The property, which had been designated as a customs department area, is situated close to Mtwapa Creek. Mr Ali then sold the property to former KRA employee Francis Githui Wahome, who then processed and acquired the title for it.
He subdivided it into plots and transferred it to Frann Investment Ltd, a company he co-owned with his wife and three sons. The company developed a five-story building comprising 10 flats.
But the Environment and Land Court sitting in Mombasa has now nullified the title issued to Mr Wahome, a former preventive officer, and directed that the ownbership of the land revert to the government after finding that it was not available for allocation at the time it was purportedly given to Mr Ali .
Justice Sila Munyao ruled that, where public land had been assigned for a specific purpose and for as long as the need remains, that land cannot be alienated for private use. The judge has therefore directed the alleged “innocent” purchasers — Frann Investments Ltd , Mr Wahome, Mr Victor Wahome, Mr Edward Kagume and Mr David Mwangi — whom the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) had sued, to demolish the developments on the land and leave within 30 days.
