[Source: Business Daily, by Sam Kiplagat]
The Commission of Inquiry into irregular allocation of public land, otherwise known as the Ndung’u Land Report in its findings noted well-connected greedy individuals who illegally converted public land into private property.
The phenomenon, known as land grabbing, became part and parcel of official grand corruption through which land meant for public use (including land specifically reserved for public purposes) was acquired by individuals and corporations, the report said.
This practice was rampant in the late 1980s and 1990s and as noted in the report, procedural safeguards were blatantly disregarded in the allocations.
Other than the grabbing of public land by individuals, there are instances where innocent Kenyans found themselves in trouble, having been allocated or purchased such property only to regret many years later.
Such a scenario played out in court recently, when a judge cancelled titles issued to individuals who claimed to have purchased some 103 houses in Woodley/Joseph Kang’ethe Estate.
Although the residents maintained that they were innocent purchasers, the court had no kind words for them — they should have been diligent. “An illegal and flawed process cannot give rise to a valid title,” Justice Samson Okongo said.
The residents, some of whom have resided in the houses for decades, have no option but to vacate.
Evidence presented to court by the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) said the land was set aside for the City Council in 1948. It was 34.63 hectares. A grant was registered in favour of the defunct council in June 1998, but in April 1999, the houses had changed hands.
In 2007, the commission moved to court seeking the revocation of the sale. Woodley Residents Welfare Society opposed the cancellation, maintaining that they paid Sh1.1 million for each of the property.
The homeowners led by its chairman Paul Ngetha said they were tenants since 1971 and the council offered to sell them the houses and they gladly welcomed the offer.
He said the council then passed a resolution and obtained a ministerial authority before approving the sale.
The sale, he added, was made following President Daniel arap Moi’s directive that the houses at Kenyatta Market and Woodley estate, among others, to be sold to the sitting tenants in 1992.
[Full article: Business Daily, by Sam Kiplagat]
