EACC Recovers Ksh300 Million Land From Private Developers

The Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) has announced the recovery of six parcels of public land from private developers in Kisumu County.

In a statement dated Thursday, December 12, the commission revealed that the parcels of land recovered were valued at Ksh300 million.

According to EACC, the private developers had grabbed the land from public institutions such as schools and road reserves.

"The land parcels, recovered through litigation, include 3.2 acres in Kisumu CBD belonging to the Kenya Railways Corporation, 7 acres grabbed from Victoria Primary School, a road reserve near the Governor’s Office and a Government house in Milimani area belonging to the Ministry of Housing," read the statement in part.

Further, the Commission indicated that they were still keen on recovering other parcels of land in the lakeside city.

It was noted that Kisumu was one of the counties leading in cases of land grabbing. One of the notable trends witnessed was the grabbing of road reserves to put up petrol stations.

Some of the land being targeted for recovery include an 18-acre parcel of land in Kibuye Market valued at Ksh2 billion and a 20-acre piece of land in Kisumu Milimani estate belonging to Kenya Prisons.

"Titles to public land held by private persons are illegal, invalid, null and void. They do not confer any interest in land," EACC added.

"Therefore, individuals seeking to invest in landed properties should exercise caution and undertake due diligence to avoid purchasing public land, which would later revert to the public."