Residents of Shamakhokho in Vihiga County are set to receive compensation for land compulsorily acquired for the construction of the Kipsigak-Serem-Shamakhokho Road after a 19-year wait.
In a statement on Friday, August 14, the Commission on Administrative Justice (Office of the Ombudsman) said its sustained intervention resulted in Ksh115,419,689 being transferred by the State Department for Roads, through the Kenya Rural Roads Authority (KeRRA), to the National Land Commission (NLC) on May 6.
"The Commission's intervention has resulted in a breakthrough in the long-standing compensation dispute involving residents of Shamakhokho, Vihiga County, whose land was compulsorily acquired in 2007 for the construction of the Kipsigak–Serem–Shamakhokho Road," the statement read.
The residents lodged a complaint with the Commission's Kisumu Regional Office in 2017, alleging that their land had been acquired in 2007 but they had not been compensated.
According to the Ombudsman, they had earlier raised the matter with the Ministry of Transport in a May 25, 2012 letter.
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The compensation process was subsequently delayed by valuation issues, changes in the legal framework and prolonged coordination between KeRRA and the NLC.
A joint inspection and valuation exercise was conducted in July 2018, while public inquiries and claim hearings were held in April 2021.
The Commission continued pursuing the matter after KeRRA reported budgetary constraints and the NLC indicated that compensation awards had been issued but funds were still required.
The Ombudsman later escalated the matter to the Principal Secretary, State Department for Roads, after repeated delays and inadequate responses.
The Principal Secretary failed to attend a Commission summons on July 7, 2026, prompting a recommendation for prosecution under Section 52 of the Commission on Administrative Justice Act and a Notice to Show Cause.
"Following confirmation of the payment, the Commission has lifted the Notice to Show Cause/Citation Notice dated 20th July 2026 issued against the Principal Secretary, State Department for Roads," the statement added.
However, the Commission said its prosecution recommendation remains in force over the Principal Secretary's failure to comply with the summons.
"The recommendation arose from the Principal Secretary's failure to comply with the Commission's lawful summons requiring his attendance before the Commission on 7th July 2026, and no lawful explanation for his non-attendance had been provided to the Commission," the statement further read.
The Ombudsman has now urged the NLC to process and pay the compensation to the affected landowners without further delay and provide an update on verification, awards and completion of payments within 30 days.
Elsewhere, a Pwani University student has received Ksh55,200 in upkeep funds from the Higher Education Loans Board (HELB) following the intervention of the Commission.
In a statement on Wednesday, August 13, the Office of the Ombudsman said the student had complained to the Commission over a delay in the processing of her HELB student loan.
She told the Commission that she was a government-sponsored student at Pwani University and had applied for HELB funding in August 2025 to support her tuition and upkeep.
The Commission said HELB had processed the student's tuition funding but failed to process her upkeep allocation, prompting her to seek its intervention.
"While HELB processed her tuition funding, it did not process her upkeep allocation, prompting her to seek the intervention of the Commission," the statement read.
Following the complaint, the Commission took up the matter with HELB through an inquiry dated May 11, 2026.
In its response dated June 26, 2026, HELB confirmed that the student was a bona fide government-sponsored student.
The Board, however, explained that the student's initial application had identified her as a self-sponsored student, resulting in the award of tuition funding only.
"However, at the time of submitting her application, she had indicated that she was a self-sponsored student and was consequently awarded tuition fees amounting to Ksh90,301.80 only," the statement added.
HELB subsequently advised the student to correct her details on the Higher Education Financing Student Portal so that her application accurately reflected her status as a government-sponsored student.
"The Board advised Ms. W.N.M. to update her details on the Higher Education Financing Student Portal to accurately reflect her status as a government-sponsored student, which she subsequently did," the statement further read.
After the student's details were updated, HELB disbursed an additional Ksh55,200 upkeep allocation to her, resolving the complaint that had been lodged with the Commission.
