South Coast-based Leisure Lodges Ltd has described as erroneous submissions by Attorney-General Paul Kihara Kariuki that its parcels of land are government-owned.
Through lawyer James Ochieng, Leisure Lodges told a three-judge bench sitting in Mombasa that the land is private, and it has never been owned by the government.
At the centre of the dispute is more than 76 hectares (187 acres) in parcels of land worth millions of shillings in Diani, Kwale County.
Mr Ochieng further submitted that there are decrees that the parcels of land belong to Leisure Lodges and that no application has been made to set them aside.
Leisure Lodges Ltd says it is the registered owner of the 10 parcels of land and is entitled to its absolute possession. It has sued individuals, companies, business entities and the government (over 700 respondents) who have interest in the land.
The AG argued that Leisure Lodges disposed of government land illegally, which was meant for settlement of squatters. He said the revocation of a parcel of land allocated to Leisure Lodges Ltd was justifiable.
The three-judge bench comprising Justices Eric Ogola, Mugure Thande and Dora Chepkwony will deliver its judgment on March 28.
[Article source: Daily Nation, by Philip Muyanga]
