The Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) has filed a case in court to recover public land near North Highridge Primary School in Nairobi from Mandera Governor Mohamed Adan Khalif, alleging that the land was unlawfully converted into private property.
In its documents, the anti-corruption watchdog says the parcel, listed as LR No. 209/12673 (now LR No. 209/21526), had been reserved for the construction of a social hall. It argues that the designation meant the land was not available for private allocation.
The EACC also asks the court to compel Mr. Khalif and his agents to vacate the property and demolish any developments on it within 30 days, with the costs borne by them. If they do not comply, the commission wants the public body taking over the land authorized to either keep or remove the developments at the governor’s expense.
“At all times material to this suit, the suit property was and still remains public land belonging to the Government of Kenya, and investigations did not disclose any evidence that proves otherwise,” the EACC said.
The Commission further seeks to set aside Grant IR 67050, issued on September 18, 1995, along with all later transfers of the land. These include the move from Ms Njeri to Shaheensha Investments Limited, the subsequent transfer to former Ntonyiri MP Maoka Maore, and the final transfer to Mandera Governor Mohamed Adan Khalif.
In addition, the EACC wants the Chief Land Registrar to cancel the grant and certificate of lease and to remove all related entries from the land register. Court documents indicate that the disputed parcel forms part of public land reserved for a social hall near North Highridge Primary School, which the court documents say was established in 1969.
The EACC states that Nairobi City Council received LR No. 209/8262 in 1969 to construct the school. In 1987, the Commission says, authorities allocated an adjoining plot, LR No. 209/13279, as an extension of the school through an approved Part Development Plan (PDP). It also says that PDP reserved the neighboring land for a social hall.
The Commission argues that, despite these reservations, officials issued a July 1995 letter of allotment to Hellen Njeri for residential development. It says the decision was based on an unapproved and unverified PDP, which it says made the allocation invalid.
The EACC also contends that the allotment was accepted by Jane Njeri rather than Hellen Njeri before former Commissioner of Lands Wilson Gachanja issued Grant IR 67050 on September 18, 1995.
The land later changed hands several times. Records show that in 1997 the property moved to Shaheensha Investments Limited, then transferred to Mr Maore in 2004, before ultimately passing to Mandera Governor Mohamed Adan Khalif in February 2021.
The EACC also alleges that a 2015 resurvey took roughly 0.05 hectares from North Highridge Primary School and added it to the disputed parcel, expanding the plot to about 0.215 hectares.
In court documents, the Commission states, “The defendants knew, or ought to have known, that LR No. 209/12673 (currently LR No. 209/21526) was not available for alienation in the first instance without a valid, approved, and registered Part Development Plan.” It argues that each defendant either knew or should have known that the land served a reserved public purpose and could not legally be allocated without a valid PDP.
The EACC accuses former Commissioner of Lands Wilson Gachanja of unlawfully facilitating the alienation of public land. It claims he breached the Government Lands Act and the Registration of Titles Act by allocating land set aside for public use.
Earlier this year, the court issued preservation orders stopping construction of residential flats connected to Governor Khalif on the disputed property. The orders will stay in place for six months.
The Commission adds that its investigations found the parcels, measuring between 0.157 and 0.2157 hectares, were illegally taken from public land and then registered under private ownership.
