The Environment and Land Court in Thika has issued temporary injunctions stopping two individuals from selling or developing a disputed nine-acre parcel of land alleged to belong to a public school, pending the determination of a case filed by EACC.
The orders were issued after EACC moved to court seeking to recover the land in Kahawa Sukari, Ruiru, Kiambu County, which the Commission claims was irregularly acquired and converted from public educational use to private residential ownership.
According to the EACC, the land identified as Ruiru/Kiu Block 3/1372 was originally set aside for the construction of a secondary school within the Kahawa Sukari Residential Scheme. It was created from the subdivision of Land Reference No. 10901/20, owned and developed by Kahawa Sukari Limited.
The Commission said the land was among several parcels reserved for public purposes when the developer sought government approval for the residential project.
Additionally, one of the conditions for approval required the company to set aside space for community facilities, including schools.
However, EACC said the company breached these terms and sold the land to private individuals before meeting the lease conditions.
In 2005, Kahawa Sukari Limited sold the land to two individuals without developing the proposed school or obtaining consent from the Commissioner of Lands.
“The Commission has instituted court proceedings seeking to recover a parcel of land in Ruiru, Kiambu County, which was irregularly converted from public (educational) use to private residential use,” the commission revealed.
EACC told the court that the sale violated the lease, which required that construction of the school begin within 24 months and prohibited any sale, subdivision, or change of use without written consent from the government.
Despite these conditions, the new owners applied for a change of use in 2015, seeking to turn the property into residential plots.
The request was irregularly approved by the then Director of Physical Planning in the County Government of Kiambu, allowing subdivision of the land into 37 residential plots.
“The property was public land reserved for education. Its sale and conversion to private residential use were irregular and unlawful. The subsequent subdivisions and issuance of new titles were tainted by fraud and illegality,” EACC stated.
The suit filed at the Thika Environment and Land Court seeks to cancel all the resultant titles and revert the property to the government. The Commission further wants the land registered in the name of the County Government of Kiambu to restore its intended public use.
The Commission told the court that the irregular sale and change of user deprived the Kahawa Sukari community of a much-needed educational facility. The land, valued at Ksh250 million in 2019, had been designated for the construction of a secondary school within the estate.
