Late Minister Mbiyu Koinange’s daughter has been taken to court by Nairobi House limited over a prime seven-acre land valued at Sh2 Billion located in Lavington.
The company filed the suit to stop Leah Koinange from developing the disputed land on grounds that they had a valid title deed with a 999 years lease from 1910.
Nairobi House’s Lawyer Philip Nyachoti stated that the company owned the land until 2016 before Ms Koinange invaded it using armed thugs and started illegal construction of a perimeter fence around it.
"The company made several complaints and pleas to government authorities to help it protect the land but has not received any assistance. Even the County Government of Nairobi declared that construction on the land was illegal but no action was taken," said Nyachoti.
Ms Koinange's Lawyer Ochieng Oduol, however, argued that the company's claims were based on an illegally acquired title for a different piece of land.
"The company says their title is for a 7.7-acre land while Ms Koinange's title is for 4.8 acres. She has approval from the NLC, the ministry of lands, the Nairobi County Government and the Director of Survey to develop the land which would not have happened if her title is not genuine," Oduol highlighted.
Ms Koinange further noted she inherited the land in 1990 from her father and got the title deed in 1991 after paying the required fees.
She noted that the charges against her over trespassing the land were dropped after the Director of Public Prosecution withdrew the case.
Lady Justice Mary Gitumbi said she would not issue any orders before the hearing and directed the parties to file their submission before the hearing on October 24.
Koinange served as Minister for Education, External Affairs, Pan-African Affairs and Minister of State in the Office of the President during late President Jomo Kenyatta's regime.
