A woman has been paid Ksh2.8 million in compensation for her land that was taken by a government agency for the construction of Kisumu Northern Bypass.
Kenya National Highways Authority (KeNHA) finally processed and paid the money, following the intervention of the Commission on Administrative Justice (CAJ), also known as the Office of the Ombudsman.
The compensation followed a complaint filed in August 2023 by the woman's son, William Ongany, who accused KeNHA of failing to pay for their land, which was acquired in February 2015 for the construction of the Kisumu Northern Bypass.
The National Land Commission awarded the family Ksh2,080,088 in compensation in February 2016, However, the payment was not effected.
According to the CAJ, the Commission launched an inquiry with KeNHA’s Director General but received no initial response, prompting several reminders.
Throughout the process, KeNHA cited budgetary constraints as the reason for the delay in honouring the compensation.
This prompted CAJ to issue a 30-day notice to the authority to settle the claim, which however, the authority failed to, prompting the commission to summon KeNHA boss.
This prompted the authority to act in time and compensate the claimant with Ksh2.8 million in May.
''The Commission issued a thirty-day notice for KeNHA to settle the claim. Upon receiving no resolution, the Commission issued a summons to the Director General to appear before it under Article 59(2)(h-k) and Article 252(3) of the Constitution, as well as Sections 27 and 28 of the Commission on Administrative Justice Act, 2011, to explain the delay,'' the Ombudsman confirmed.
''Before the summons could be enforced, the complainant's mother visited the Commission's Kisumu Regional Office on May 21, 2025, to express gratitude. She confirmed full payment of her claim totalling Ksh2,800,000.80.''
Under Kenyan law, compensation for land acquired for public use is a constitutional right. Article 40(3) of the Constitution provides that no person shall be deprived of property without prompt payment in full of just compensation. This right is reinforced under the Land Act, 2012, which mandates that affected landowners must be fully compensated before their land can be lawfully taken.
While the National Land Commission (NLC) oversees the actual acquisition process, KeNHA, as the acquiring agency, is required to deposit funds with the NLC for disbursement to landowners. Section 115 of the Land Act obliges the NLC to make prompt payments as per the compensation award. In this case, the NLC had awarded compensation in 2016, but KeNHA’s delay in releasing funds led to the prolonged non-payment.
Legal experts and courts have consistently affirmed that any delays in compensation constitute a breach of constitutional and statutory obligations.
