How Lang’ata Women’s Prison’s 34-acre land ended up in private hands
Investigations have been slowed down by missing records at the Ministry of Lands and Physical Planning.
What was once reserved for the expansion of Lang’ata Women’s Prison has been turned into private residential estates, after 34 acres of public land were fraudulently taken and sold, a scheme now at the centre of a parliamentary probe.
The National Assembly’s Committee on Implementation has begun investigating how the land, which remains legally part of Ngong Forest, was irregularly allocated to companies and a former legislator, then passed on to unsuspecting third parties who developed it.
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During a session chaired by Raphael Wanjala, the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI), represented by George Kisaka, presented documents detailing how the property changed hands.
The report revealed that the land, intended for Nairobi Prison (Lang’ata Women’s Prison), was illegally taken through questionable allocations and never benefited the prison department.
“Based on the preliminary investigation and analysis of the evidentiary documents collected and reports, the investigation has observed that the land in question was not de-gazetted in accordance with Section 4 of the repealed Forest Act, Cap 385 of 1942,” reads the DCI report signed by Kisaka.
The 34 acres were allocated to three primary allottees, two companies and a former MP who later subdivided and transferred the parcels to different buyers.
Many of these third parties have already put up houses, some claiming to have purchased the land without knowledge of its original status.
The report shows that part of the land, parcel LR No 12688 measuring 14.27 hectares, had been marked for exchange with prison land in Industrial Area, but the process was abandoned midway.
As a result, the entire 35-acre stretch ended up in the hands of private developers, leaving the prison, which hosts around 1,000 inmates, without any of it.
Investigations have been slowed down by missing records at the Ministry of Lands and Physical Planning. Kisaka told MPs that efforts to trace documents dating back to the 1980s and 1990s have been unsuccessful.
He also disclosed that the judiciary had not responded to requests from investigators, while the Government Printer was unable to produce copies of proclamations from 1933 and 1934.
The DCI report lists how the allocations were done. Arladyks Investments Limited was allocated a portion before transferring it to Jackim Limited in 1994, which later sold it to Kenya Medical Association Housing Cooperative Society in 1998.
The cooperative subdivided it into 113 plots and constructed residential units that still occupy the land today.
Another section was allocated to Prilscot Company Limited in 1993, later converted from open residential to private use, transferred to Gravity Exporters Limited in 1994, and eventually sold to Assumption Sisters of Nairobi Registered Trustees in 1999.
The portion given to the former MP in July 1993 was subdivided into 11 plots and sold to various entities, leading to the establishment of Shalom Court Estate, Lang’ata Gardens Estate, Lang’ata View Estate, and St Mary’s Educational Centre Hospital.
Some of the named owners include Beige Investments, Muna Mburu Kirgu Estate, Josephat Mburu Kiragu, and Peter Irungu Macharia.
Parliamentary records indicate that officials from the Commissioner of Lands, Chief Conservator of Forests, and Commissioner of Prisons were among those who benefited from the irregular transfer.
The land remains legally gazetted as part of Ngong Forest since it was never de-gazetted, despite approval by the then Chief Conservator of Forests between 1985 and 1993.
The committee has directed the DCI to trace and record statements from former senior officials who served between 1985 and 1998, including those from the Lands, Forests, and Prisons departments.
The investigative team has been given two months to table a progress report.
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