High Court Judge Chacha Mwita on Friday, March 6, 2020, ordered that an American-owned church be paid Ksh710 million for its Ongata Rongai property.
The Clarence Matheny Leadership and Training Institute (CMLTI) got the reprieve after a fierce battle that had seen the compensation case drag for years.
The church had gone to court over what it termed as malice from the National Lands Commission. It had accused the commission of soliciting bribes in order to secure compensation for the land.
A fierce battle had erupted between the church group, which owned the property, the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) and suspected fake gold merchant Zaheer Jhanda over the worth of the prime land.
The land had been acquired during the construction of the standard gauge railway phase 2A. However, the EACC had stopped payment of the initially demanded Ksh927 million, stating that the cost had been inflated.
Zaheer, through his corporation, Altana, had initially demanded Ksh139 million as consultancy fees.
The National Lands Commission had deposited the initial Ksh927 million that had been agreed on as the compensation package as of February 2019.
This case had also sparked criticism against former NLC chairman Muhamad Swazuri with claims that the former chair had intended to extort up to Ksh200 million from the church.
The church had secured a Ksh927 million compensation package which Justice Mwita had ordered be deposited in court until the case is determined.
However, the EACC went to the High Court in Kajiado County, arguing that the value of the land had been inflated and wanted payments stopped.
The two later agreed to settle out the matter in an out-of-court deal that saw the church pocket a reduced Ksh850 million, with the only pending issue being payment of legal fees for the suit.
Jhanda rushed to court to stop the release of the funds, insisting that his firm would lose the money if it was released by Justice Mwita.
Altana Corporation has since vowed to go back to court to seek redress. The EACC is still probing Swazuri, NLC deputy director of valuation and taxation Joash Oindo and his boss Salome Munubi over the Ongata Rongai land saga.
