Senate summons Badi over illegal land allocations

Senators have summoned Nairobi Metropolitan Services Director-General Mohamed Badi and other senior government officials over their alleged involvement in the transfer of public land to private entities.

They also asked President Uhuru Kenyatta to call for an audit of the NMS before its term ends to establish its involvement in the numerous land disputes that have arisen during its tenure.

This came up during a fact-finding mission of the Senate’s Committee on Devolution and Intergovernmental relations in Pangani and Eastleigh areas of the capital city yesterday.

The senators, led by committee chairperson and Homa Bay Senator Moses Kajwang were shocked to find that two staff quarters allocated to doctors working at Pumwani Maternity Hospital had been converted to a garage and a parking yard.

Barely a hundred metres from the two illegally occupied houses, another plot, said to belong to a police station, now has a petrol station.

The police were also accused by residents of being used by powerful businessmen to facilitate the eviction of the rightful owners of the land.

As such, the committee summoned Inspector-General of Police Hillary Mutyambai to account for the police’s actions. Other officers summoned included the land surveyor as well as the Lands chief officer.

The site visit hit a little snag when NMS failed to show up yet it possessed crucial documents including the survey plans, and title deeds that were to guide the exercise.

Senator Kajwang expressed his displeasure with the no-show saying the excuse that Mr Badi had accompanied the President to Dubai did not mean the entity stopped working.

Mr Kajwang said they would call the victims of the demolitions and land grabbing to the Senate to give further details on the same.