Over 2,000 residents of Lamu County have filed an application at the Milimani Law Courts seeking to be enjoined in a land dispute involving prime parcels of land on Manda Island.
The residents, who are fishermen, claim to have a legitimate stake and legal interest in the contested property, which spans over 1,000 acres.
Through their lawyer, Danstan Omari, the residents accuse two companies Goodson Nine Limited and Goodson Fifty Three Limited of colluding with others to unlawfully acquire their land.
The residents allege that the companies, backed by influential businessmen, used fraudulent means to secure ownership of the land.
High Court judge Justice Bahati Mwamuye on November 14, issued orders restraining the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) and the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) from prosecuting businessman Alex Githinji.
The orders also barred the DCI from investigating any matters related to the purchase of the disputed land.
In their application, the residents want the court to vacate the ex parte orders, arguing that the directives have a likelihood of adversely affecting and further derogating their rights.
They contend that their exclusion from the case would result in significant prejudice, as they are the rightful owners.
“There are ex parte orders granted in favor of the petitioner which derogates the constitutional rights of the Applicants/intended 4th & 5th respondents and as such it is just in the circumstance for them to be joined as parties in this petition,” read the court documents.
The petitioner, businessman Alex Githinji, says that his acquisition of the land was lawful.
He claims to have conducted due diligence before finalizing the purchase, including an official land search that confirmed the parcels’ ownership by Abdillahi Farh Haji.
Githinji argued that the DCI’s attempts to investigate him are baseless and malicious.
“The Petitioner with a view of helping the interested party to purchase purchasing of the suit property, carried out due diligence to ascertain the authenticity of the ownership of the suit property and traced it to the vendors who sold the same to him,” read court documents.
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