Ministry on the spot over ‘grabbed’ Sh10 billion land
Environment and Forestry Principal Secretary Chris Kiptoo.
Suspected land grabbers had claimed prime parcels allocated to the meteorological department worth Sh10 billion before the anti-corruption agency flagged the deals, the Nation has learnt.
MPs Tuesday questioned the manner in which the Ministry of Environment and Forestry had handled the dealings before the land was recovered by the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) in 2020.
The 21.04 hectares located in Nairobi’s Industrial Area on Road B, off Enterprise Road, belong to the Kenya Meteorological Department (KMD).
The land houses a meteorological station with a transmitter, generator rooms and staff quarters.
The irregular allocation is the subject of an audit query by Auditor-General Nancy Gathungu on the accounts of the ministry for the 2019/20 financial year.
Details before the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) of the National Assembly show the land had been grabbed by five private companies.
A 2020 High Court judgment shows that the firms had the land subdivided into portions of equal size.
Title deeds
They had also secured title deeds. Hillbrow Properties Limited allocated itself 3.998 hectares, Brentwood Traders Limited 3.656 hectares and Pamba Properties Limited 2.968 hectares. Varun Industrial Credit Limited had 6.259 hectares while Beacon Towers Limited got 4.731 hectares.
Hillbrow was incorporated on November 13,1995, Varun on May 11, 1995 and Pamba on January 15, 1996. Brentwood was incorporated on September 1, 1997 and Beacon on September 10, 1997. PAC also established that, at the incorporation of the five companies, there were two shareholders, Kantibhai Maganbhai and Harish Ashabhai Patel.
Maganbhai, who died in December 2007, held 99 shares while Ashabhai Patel held one. A third director, Pritibala Sha —Maganbhai’s daughter—was appointed on June 15, 2007, but without any share. EACC went to court in 2009 and on August 3, 2020, Environment and Land Court Judge E.O Obaga revoked the five title deeds after it established that they were fraudulently obtained. There was no appeal.
PAC chairman Opiyo Wandayi on Monday asked Environment and Forestry Principal Secretary Chris Kiptoo what action the ministry had taken against the individuals.
“Have you instituted criminal proceedings against the individuals who had grabbed the government land?” the Ugunja MP asked.
Not certain
Dr Kiptoo said he was not certain whether the ministry was planning to charge them.
“There is no prosecution yet, at least to the best of my knowledge,” the PS said, despite the court determining that the title deeds were fraudulently obtained.
The ministry’s head of legal services, Ms Annie Syombua, confirmed that no criminal proceedings had been instituted against the firms.
“The matter is criminal in nature, but I am not aware if there is any case in court against the owners of the companies,” she said.
In their investigation, EACC had warned that, unless urgent measures were taken to safeguard the land, the ministry was bound to lose it.
“EACC advised the ministry to quickly fence the land and ensure it is protected,” Dr Kiptoo said.
MPs claimed there might be a wider plot by some ministry officials to collude with the owners of the companies to grab the land.
“It is interesting that, close to two years since Justice Obaga’s judgment, you have not charged the individuals for the criminal act of fraud. It doesn’t prick where you sit, PS?” Mr Wandayi asked.
As the PAC chairman expressed his fears, Dr Kiptoo, KMD Director Stella Aura and Ms Syombua said there was another attempt to grab the land.
Sued ministry
They told the committee that Swing Investment Limited, a local company, has sued the ministry, claiming a portion of the land. The company may have explored the loophole by the ministry’s failure to charge the owners of the five companies that had forged title deeds.
“There is another attempt to grab the land. An application was filed in court and this ministry was served. The matter is now with the Office of the Attorney-General,” said Ms Syombua, in what could be an attempt by some elements of the five companies to challenge Justice Obaga’s ruling through another application in court as opposed to an appeal.
President Kenyatta had issued an executive order that the land be handed over to the housing department for the Mukuru slum upgrading project.
