City hall reposesses public land from grabbers

The Nairobi County Government has announced reclaiming 18 acres of prime public land at the junction of Kiambu Road and the northern bypass from land grabbers.

According to City Hall’s Acting County Secretary, Patrick Analo, the land in question is County Government land for the development of public facilities for use by local residents. The prime parcel of land was surrendered & set aside for the development of public amenities which include a market, school, hospital, health facility, football pitch and social hall.

“Private developers had since developed two petrol stations, car bazaars, eateries, beauty shops, pharmacies, and other businesses.”

A team of officers from the County’s Urban planning department, Security Compliance & armed police were on site today to issue demolition notices against the illegal developments.

“The County will move forward to demolish all illegal developments upon expiry of this enforcement notice issued in accordance to the Physical and Land Use Planning Act (PLUPA 2019) and the building code,” Lands Chief Officer Cecilia Koigu stated.

Governor Sakaja Johnson recently established a task force of county officials with support from the National Lands Commission, which is tasked with identifying and repossessing all public land in various of the city including Karen, Kasarani,

Tassia, Mwiki, Roysambu, Kilimani, Runda & all other affected areas.

Athi River demolitions cause uproar

There has also been an ongoing public uproar over the ongoing demolitions of homes and properties in Athi river with human rights advocates terming the demotions as “inhumane”.

Kenya National Human Rights Commission (KNHRC) and Mazingira Institute have described the demolitions of multi-million homes in Athi-River as a gross violation of human rights.

The government on Friday last week started demolishing homes on the 4,298-acre piece of land after the Machakos Environment and Land Court ruled on October 9 that land LR NO. 10424 located within Athi River in Mavoko, Machakos County belongs to East African Portland Cement PLC.

As the demolitions enter day three, The Director of  Criminal Investigations (DCI) has called on individuals affected by the Portland Cement land demolitions to report to the Athi River Police Station with documents or evidence that can help in the arrest of people who fraudulently sold them land.

In a statement on Tuesday, DCI Director Mohamed Amin said there is credible information that some of the individuals being evicted from the land are innocent buyers who fell victim to the fraudsters.

“Due to the magnitude of the Portland PLC matter, which involves significant personal losses for potentially innocent victims of land fraud, and the swindling of millions of shillings, the DCI has established desks at the Athi River Police Station to collect relevant information and evidence that will aid in the investigations,” the DCI boss said.

The DCI has meanwhile summoned 30 individuals including Mavoko MP Patrick Makau to provide information that may help in apprehending the culprits in the fraudulent land deal.