Lands Cabinet Secretary Alice Wahome on Wednesday, March 27, admitted to mistakenly awarding a title deed of government land to a private developer in Nairobi.
Wahome who appeared before the Senate was tasked with addressing the controversies that surround the ownership of the land in Makadara where the Tom Mboya Social Hall lies.
Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna enquired how the Ministry of Land awarded land which belonged to the government to a private developer who had begun construction works on the said parcel.
The senator further compelled the CS to appraise the house on how the Ministry of Land was planning to curb incidents of land grabbing such as the illegal acquisition of the Makadara land.
While detailing the acquisition of the land, Wahome clarified the land was initially leased to Kenya Africa National Union (KANU) in 1985.
Before the lease, the plot was reserved to the Ministry of Public Works for the development of a Community Hall on June 26, 1957, through an order of the then governor.
A letter of allotment was issued in favour of KANU on April 12, 1985, for a term of 99 years. However, On 22 Feb 2021, the parcel was then mistakenly transferred to a private developer.
"I confirm Gami got an irregular allocation and I will proceed to cancel that title. It is going to remain public property," CS Alice Wahome stated.
"My office obviously misbehaved. The parcel having been registered as a social hall should remain as such," Wahome added
CS Alice Wahome's pronouncement comes a month after she fired land officials in Kiambu County on allegations of colluding with cartels to grab a cemetery land.
“From the records and maps that we have, it is clear that this is public land. How it was reverted to a private developer is a mystery. But for now, it will remain so. No development should be done in this area,” noted the CS.
Wahome further ordered police officers who had been providing security for the alleged land grabbers to leave the site immediately.
