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Land worth over Sh50 billion belonging to State firms grabbed, Auditor-General's report reveals
Nairobi West residents are up in arms over some private developers who have grabbed a public land meant for construction of a market.
What you need to know:
- Many State agencies lack ownership documents for their lands, leaving them vulnerable to encroachment.
- At Kenya Railways Corporation, land valued at over Sh15 billion lacks proper valuation.
- 34 parcels of land belonging to the NCPB do not have title deeds.
An audit report has uncovered widespread grabbing of land belonging to various State corporations valued at over Sh50 billion.
The report by Auditor-General Nancy Gathungu, covering the financial year 2021-2022, paints a troubling picture of the state of affairs at these agencies, with many of them lacking ownership documents for their lands, leaving them vulnerable to encroachment.
Among the worst hit are the Kenya Railways Corporation (KRC), Postal Corporation of Kenya, National Cereals and Produce Board (NCPB), New Kenya Co-operative Creameries (New KCC), Agricultural Development Corporation, and Pyrethrum Processing Company of Kenya.
The audit revealed significant land grabbing at KRC, where land valued at over Sh15 billion lacks proper valuation. Illegal allocations of land were also discovered, with the properties handed to third parties without the corporation's consent.
“Despite records showing that Kenya Railways owns land valued at Sh15,175,501,812 as at June 30, 2022,land valuation has not been done over the years, contrary to the law which provides for revaluation of property plant and equipment every three to five years,” the report says.
For instance, land at the Limuru railway station, constituting nine industrial plots measuring three acres; a parcel at Kikuyu railway station measuring two acres; and another adjacent to Mombasa railway station measuring 0.75 to one acre have been irregularly allocated to third parties, with some having been developed.
Auditor General Nancy Gathungu.
Further, another 529 parcels have been illegally allocated in various places across the country.
Similarly, the New KCC couldn't provide documents for properties valued at Sh853 million, with disputes over ownership and lack of disclosure in financial statements adding to the complexity of the issue.
Although management explained that the company had initiated legal proceedings besides engaging the National Land Commission and Ministry of Lands with a view to recovering the disputed properties, no tangible change in the status of the parcels has been attained so far.
The Pyrethrum Processing Company of Kenya faces the risk of losing thousands of acres of prime land worth over Sh350 million due to a lack of title deeds, with some parcels already grabbed or allocated to individuals. The land in some of the 19 pyrethrum growing counties has been grabbed or allocated to individuals.
And 34 parcels of land belonging to the NCPB do not have title deeds. In addition, the leases for three plots in Kericho had not been renewed, making a total of 37 properties valued at Sh581,364,000 whose title documents were not in the custody of the NCPB. Other parcels that have been encroached are in Nakuru,Kisii,Kericho,Sagana,Kapsabet and Narok.
The report further shows that land belonging to the National Youth Service measuring approximately 2,247 hectares in Yatta, Mavoloni, Athi River, Mombasa, Mwatate, among other regions, had not been fenced and were encroached on.
Also affected is the National Housing Corporation whose 68 parcels were not valued, did not have any ownership documents and they were, therefore, not included in the cost of land balance of Sh2 billion. Two of the untitled parcels in Kakamega County also have an ownership dispute.
Nyayo Tea Zones land valued at Sh323 million has been grabbed, including a parcel measuring 66 hectares, which is fully developed. Several other parcels of land belonging to the State corporation do not have title deeds.
The Agricultural Development Corporation and the Kenya Agricultural and Livestock Research Organisation are also affected, with more than Sh3 billion worth of their land grabbed.
Other affected firms include the Export Processing Zone Authority, Kenya Forestry Research Institute, Kenya Pipeline Corporation and Kenya Airports Authority.
