A prime piece of land in Mombasa City that was irregularly acquired and traded through a series of fraudulent deals dating back nearly three decades has been recovered and returned to public ownership.
The Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) on Friday announced that the 0.13-acre parcel, valued at Ksh21 million, had been earmarked for the expansion of Tom Mboya Avenue before it was unlawfully grabbed and sold.
In a landmark ruling, Environment and Land Court Judge Stephen Kibunja cancelled the title deed, declaring that the land had been acquired through an illegal process and could not be held as private property.
Court records show that the land was first irregularly allocated to a businessman through an allotment letter dated January 24, 1996 despite there being no formal application for the land. The plot was part of a public road reserve intended to support the city’s transport infrastructure.
In 2002, the land changed hands again after the then Mombasa Land Registrar issued a 99-year Certificate of Lease to a second businessman at an annual rent of just Ksh6,000. A year later, the property was sold for Ksh500,000 to a third individual, who went on to secure a lease title in his name.
The court found all three transactions to be fraudulent, ruling that none of the parties acquired a valid interest in the land.
The case was originally filed on January 18, 2008, by the now-defunct Kenya Anti-Corruption Commission (KACC), the predecessor to the EACC, following investigations into the suspected grabbing of public land reserved for road expansion.
Justice Kibunja also issued a permanent injunction barring the individuals involved from interfering with the land in any way, except surrendering it to the government.
With the title now revoked, the land reverts to public ownership and will be used for its original purpose the expansion of Tom Mboya Avenue a move expected to ease traffic congestion and improve mobility within Mombasa City.
The recovery adds to a growing list of public assets reclaimed by the anti-graft agency at the Coast. In October this year, the EACC successfully recovered another parcel of public land in Nyali valued at Ksh30 million after a 12-year legal battle.
That land had been reserved for the expansion of Links Road adjoining 1st Avenue and was also unlawfully allocated in 1996 by the then Commissioner of Lands without any legal basis, according to court findings.
EACC says the latest ruling reinforces the principle that public land, once grabbed, can still be reclaimed even decades later and restored for the benefit of citizens.
