EACC recovers Sh45m public land allocated to private individuals in Nairobi

The Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) has successfully recovered a Sh5 million piece of public land in Karen, Nairobi which had been illegally grabbed and allocated to private individuals.

According to the Land and Environment Court, the property, which was originally surrendered to the government in 1994 for public use, was unlawfully transferred.

In her ruling, Justice Lucy Mbugua of the Environment and Land Court declared that the property is "public land" and that the transfer to private persons was "illegal, unlawful, fraudulent and corrupt hence a nullity".

The court directed that the title deed for the land be cancelled and that it be re-registered in the name of the Nairobi City County Government as a public utility plot.

"The suit property, identified as LR. 2250/71, is public land that belongs to the government of Kenya," the court stated.

The recovery of the land followed a lawsuit filed by Giraffe View Estate Limited, which claimed the land was wrongly taken from the public.

The plaintiff argued that the land had been surrendered for public purposes, including the construction of a health facility, and sought the cancellation of any illegal transfer or registration of the land to private individuals.

The court sided with the plaintiff, reaffirming that the land should remain in the public domain for the benefit of the community.

The court also issued orders to prevent further illegal activity on the land, issuing a permanent injunction against the defendants, restraining them from "entering, encroaching, trespassing, remaining on, using, damaging, wasting away, charging, mortgaging, leasing, transferring, disposing of and or in any manner dealing or interfering with public land."

The EACC welcomed the court's decision, with the commission reaffirming its commitment to recovering assets acquired through corrupt practices.

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