The Kenya Civil Aviation Authority (KCAA) through lawyers James Orengo and Otiende Amollo has moved to court seeking to repossess the contentious land on which Weston Hotel sits.
This comes in the backdrop of a deal brokered by the National Lands Commission (NLC) to have Deputy President William Ruto pay for the controversial land.
NLC had found that Weston Hotel was been built on grabbed land belonging to KCAA and ordered that Ruto should negotiate for compensation.
However, according to the suit filed by Orengo and Amollo at the Lands and Environment Court, as reported by The Standard, NLC lacked powers to order KCAA to negotiate with the DP for compensation.
KCAA further stated that its only desire was to get back its land and not to be paid any money.
“The first respondent’s (NLC) determination further is irrational and irregular as no party pleaded for compensation. The final order also fails to account for the fixtures on the land, making the order ambiguous and absurd and incapable of implementation,” Otiende and Orengo argued.
“Similarly, the determination is irrational because it deliberately turned a blind eye to the corrupt dealings of the second (Weston Hotel), third (Priority Limited) and fourth (Monene Investments Limited) respondents instead of upholding the petitioner legitimate expectation to enforcement of its property rights, thereby setting a bad precedent that wrongfully elevates land grabbing by private entities beyond legal reproach,” the KCAA lawyers added.
According to KCAA Director General Gilbert Kibe the parcel Weston sits on was public land intended for use by the Directorate of Civil Aviation (DCA) in ensuring air navigation control and safety throughout Kenya.
Captain Kibe accused NLC of attempting to whitewash the illegality it suffered by ordering that it must accept compensation.
In February, while speaking on BBC HARDtalk show hosted by Stephen Sackur, the Deputy President for the first time, acknowledged that the land that his Weston Hotel sits on was illegally acquired.
The case will be heard on July 4.
