NAIROBI, Kenya, Oct 13 — The Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) has recovered a prime government property worth Sh35 million located next to the Bungoma State Lodge in the Milimani area of Bungoma Town.
EACC said the land, belonging to the State Department for Housing and Urban Development, had been illegally acquired by a private individual who demolished a government house and put up a luxury maisonette.
In a judgment delivered on October 9, Justice Enock Cherono of the Bungoma Environment and Land Court ruled that the property — Bungoma Township/169, measuring about half an acre — was fraudulently acquired.
The judge declared all transactions leading to its acquisition illegal, null, and void, and ordered the eviction of the current occupant, Judy Nekoye.
Justice Cherono also directed the Bungoma Land Registrar to cancel the fraudulent certificate of lease and expunge all irregular entries from the land register.
EACC investigations established that the parcel was among properties reserved by the government in 1961 for residential houses for senior public officers.
However, in 2004, it was irregularly allocated to Charles Nyasani and Scolastica Nyakerario, who later transferred it to Nekoye in 2016.
Nekoye had petitioned the court seeking ownership of the land, but EACC opposed the claim, presenting evidence of fraudulent dealings in its allocation and transfer.
Following the court’s ruling, the Bungoma Land Registrar has been ordered to rectify the land records, while Nekoye and her agents must vacate the property immediately.
EACC said it is currently pursuing 16 other prime public properties in Bungoma suspected to have been illegally acquired, as part of ongoing efforts to reclaim public land.
The Commission has also urged Kenyans to conduct due diligence before purchasing land to avoid losses arising from the acquisition of public property through illegal means.