Three families whose 12-acre land was taken by the government by force for construction of a hospital in Othaya will not get more compensation, a Nyeri court has ruled.
Justice Lucy Waithaka of the Environment and Lands Court dismissed the families’ petition and ruled that they failed to make a case against the State. The families of Wangechi Karoing’o, Thinji Kihiuhu and Githinji Wambugu lost the protracted dispute that started in 1990 when they were evicted from the land.
The land was acquired by government in 1979 for construction of a ward named Nyayo and extension of a hospital, previously known as Othaya District Hospital.
The court heard that the families were paid Sh 9,151 per acre. In the court case filed in 2017, the claimants wanted more compensation arguing that the land was undervalued. They said they were supposed to be paid Sh 120,000 per acre of land. The families sued the National Lands Commission and the Ministry of Health arguing that the applicable legal procedures were not complied with in the acquisition of the land.
Terming the complaints by the families as an afterthought and the petition an abuse of the court process, the respondents pointed out that the claimants acknowledged having received compensation in respect of the suit properties.
[Article source: The Daily Nation, by Joseph Wangui]
