Editor's Review

EACC is seeking recovery of grabbed property worth over Sh7 billion in Nakuru County alone.

EACC has recovered about 5 acres of Government land belonging to the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development, within Nakuru Town Centre.

The land is said to have been grabbed by private individuals through private companies and proxies.

EACC chair Twalib Mbarak said the land which includes 20 prime Government house units, has an estimated current market of Sh345 million.

"The land, together with the 20 housing units built thereon, was fraudulently allocated by former Commissioner of Lands to two ordinary members of the public who subsequently transferred the same to a private entity, which subsequently transferred the property to another entity," Mbarak said.

"The recovery of the Ministry of Housing land was through a civil suit filed by EACC against three (3) individuals and two private entities," the EACC CEO noted."

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The EACC boss said companies are linked to a former Member of Parliament for a Constituency in Nandi and were allegedly used as conduits for the grabbing of this property.

The Judgement in favour of EACC was issued by Justice Mwangi Njoroge of the Nakuru Environment and Land Court, who nullified all the transactions leading to the illegal transfer of the Government land and cancelled all illegal entries in the Nakuru Register.

EACC Headquarters, Integrity Centre. PHOTO | COURTESY

Justice Njoroge also ordered that the property be registered in the name of the Permanent Secretary to the Treasury, in trust for the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development, as required under the law.

The grabbed but now recovered property, Land Parcel Number Nakuru Municipality Block 5/221, had been planned, reserved and used for Government housing.

In Nakuru County alone, Mbarak said EACC is pursuing grabbed public property in court mainly constituting agricultural land, road reserves, land reserved for expansion of state agencies and Government houses for civil servants.

The anti-graft body boss said EACC has civil cases active in Court seeking recovery of grabbed property amounting to over Sh7 billion in Nakuru County alone,

"EACC is currently pursuing the rectification of the Nakuru Land Register by the Registrar to have the illegal entries removed and a new Title Deed issued in the name of the Government as ordered by the Court," Mbarak noted.

"Once this process is concluded, EACC will hand over the Title to the Government."

Mbarak has called upon all persons holding titles to grabbed government property across the country to consider voluntarily surrendering the same to the Commission.

He said waiting for the costly and lengthy court process may ultimately see them surrender the property and pay the costs of the suit and interest to the Commission.

"EACC is empowered under the law to enter into negotiations with graft suspects to facilitate their voluntary surrender of what they have stolen from the public, under the framework of Alternative Dispute Resolution," the CEO noted.