The Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) has successfully reclaimed 0.1116 hectares of illegally acquired public land in Kisumu County, valued at Ksh 25 million.
The land, owned by Kenya Railways Corporation, was retrieved following a ruling by the Kisumu Environment and Land Court.
In a judgment delivered on March 20, 2025, Justice Samson Okong’o ordered the cancellation of the Certificate of Title for Kisumu Municipality Block 7/559, which had been fraudulently issued to Fred Ogonji.
The court ruled that the land was part of a larger parcel reserved for Kenya Railways and had never been available for private allocation.
EACC’s investigation revealed that the land was originally part of East African Railways and Harbors Administration, under Legal Notice No. 440 of 1963.
In 1986, the land was transferred to Kenya Railways Corporation, its legal successor, through Legal Notice No. 24 of 1986.
However, in 1998, the land was illegally allocated to Ogonji, who received an allotment letter on October 12 of that year.
On June 30, 2000, Sammy Komen Mwaita, then Commissioner of Lands, issued a Certificate of Lease, completing the fraudulent registration. EACC filed a suit in 2020 under case ELC/E39/2020, seeking a declaration that the land was public property and requesting the revocation of Ogonji’s title.
Justice Okong’o ruled that the Certificate of Lease was illegal and declared the property had been fraudulently acquired. The title was therefore nullified.
This recovery is part of EACC’s ongoing efforts to reclaim grabbed public land in Kisumu County.
Other significant recoveries include land belonging to the Kisumu Law Courts, the Kisumu Port under Kenya Railways, and the KIWASCO water treatment plant.
Kisumu County has long struggled with widespread land grabbing, and EACC is currently pursuing cases involving illegally acquired properties worth over Ksh 4 billion, which are pending before the Environment and Land Court.
