Ownership wrangles that have marred an iconic Ksh2 billion building in Nairobi CBD have been settled by a ruling which exposed how land grabbers collude with rogue government officials to steal land.
Justice Samson Okong'o ruled that the one-acre parcel on Kenyatta Avenue, where Caxton House stands belongs to Sayani Investments Limited.
Two other firms had claimed ownership of the land in a fight that has waged on for more than 5 years.
The Caxton House, which is a commercial building, hosts several banks, restaurants, offices and shops.
The court established that certain individuals had conspired with unscrupulous land registrars to appropriate the piece of land whose lease was about to expire and secretly changed the ownership documents behind the backs of legitimate owners.
The lease expired in 2007, but as the owner sought to renew it, he learnt of the fraudulent efforts to issue a grant it to other people.
According to the law, upon the expiry of a lease, the current lessee is given preference during renewal, in what is termed as pre-emptive rights.
The owner of Sayani Investments, Zarekhanu Haiderali Kanji Sayani, also owns the Old Nation House along Tom Mboya Street and other buildings in the city centre.
The wrangles played out in public in March 2015 where one person was killed, scores wounded and property worth millions of shillings looted.
According to reports at the time, more than 200 people raided the building and sealed it off with roofing sheets.
At the time the files at the Land Registry relating to the property reportedly went missing.
In a letter in March 2015, Sayani, through its lawyer Fred Ojiambo of Kaplan and Stratton Advocates, sought former Attorney-General Githu Muigai’s intervention to restore and secure all company records at the lands registry.
“The entire family files at Nyayo House have also gone missing with a clear view to destroying all traces of potential children and heirs of Mr and Mrs Sayani,” read the letter.
