BY SAM ALFAN.
High court has stopped the government from paying over 208 million shillings in the controversial land case land in which General Service Unit headquarters stands in Nairobi.
The money was to be paid to two companies namely Afrison Export Import Limited and Huelands Limited. Justice Onguto further gave the respondents 60 days to respond to the suit.
Activist Okiya Omutata and Nyakina Wyclife Gisebe moved to court claiming that two companies, Afrison Export Import Limited and Huelands Limited in collusion with unscrupulous public officers have hived off and re-sold to the government 6.7 acres of the 37.4 of public land in Ruaraka occupied by the headquarters of the General Service Unit which was excised from Drive In Estate.
The two also want Kenya Urban Roads Authority, National Land Commission and CS Lands and Housing to disclose all the transactions pertaining to the 6.7 acres meant for the outer ring improvement project.
“The decision to steal public land and re-sell it to the Government is contrary to public policy, “he argues
In court documents he says National Land Commission-(NLC) compulsorily acquired the land from GSU from Afrison Export Import Limited and HUELANDS Limited then handed it to KURA to be used and improve the stretch of outer Ring Road between the Thika Road junction and the Eastern Bypass Junction.
The petitioner’s claim that says the valuation compulsorily acquired land is a nullity in law as it did not involve the government valuer.
They argue that NLC and KURA are at an advanced stage of approving and making further payments to the two named companies.
It’s further alleged that through installments, Almasi Limited has been paid a total of over 1.2 billion shillings leaving an outstanding amount of over 2. Billion shillings.
“There is a provision in the payments of some 3,070,000.00 shillings being the value of the boundary wall erected by the GSU which will be affected,” reads the petition.
The suit seeks to determine the rightful owner of the 96 acres.
It is the petitioners argument that the two companies enriched from numerous and fraudulent pay made by the state.
Telkom Kenya argues that it bought the land in the year 1988 and later sold it to the government.
