The Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) has recovered two public properties in Mombasa and Kwale counties worth a combined Sh100 million after securing landmark judgments from the Environment and Land Court.
The recovered properties include a government house in Kizingo, Mombasa, valued at Sh55 million, and a parcel of land reserved for a public beach access road in Diani, Kwale, valued at Sh45 million.
In both rulings, the courts found that senior government officials who facilitated the illegal allocation of the properties were guilty of misfeasance in public office, holding that they acted in bad faith and exceeded the powers vested in them.
The courts also awarded the government Sh20 million in damages through the EACC for trespass and prolonged interference with public access and use of the properties. The defendants were further ordered to pay the costs of the recovery suits.
The Mombasa property, registered as L.R. No. Mombasa Municipality/Block XXVI/933, measures 0.253 acres and hosts a high-grade government house reserved for senior civil servants under the Ministry of Lands, Public Works, Housing and Urban Development.
EACC investigations established that the property was fraudulently allocated to a former Senior Resident Magistrate through a 99-year lease issued in 1998.
In its judgment delivered on July 17, 2026, the Environment and Land Court in Mombasa declared the lease and certificate of lease fraudulent, illegal, null and void, ordered their cancellation, and permanently barred the defendants from dealing with the property.
The second property, L.R. No. Kwale/Diani Beach Block/1072, is a 1.14-acre strip of land reserved as a public access road linking the Ukunda-Diani Road to the Indian Ocean beach.
According to EACC, the land was unlawfully allocated to a private company through a 99-year lease issued in 1994.
In a judgment delivered on July 14, 2026, the Environment and Land Court in Kwale nullified the lease and certificate of lease, directed the cancellation of all related land records, and restored the property to public ownership.
EACC said the judgments reinforce its efforts to recover illegally acquired public assets and establish an important legal precedent by holding public officers personally accountable for facilitating the unlawful alienation of public property.
The Commission noted that over the past three years it has recovered public assets worth more than Sh1.16 billion across the Coast region, including land belonging to the Kenya Airports Authority, Kenya Railways Corporation, Kenya Meat Commission and the County Government of Mombasa.
EACC Chief Executive Officer Abdi A. Mohamud said the Commission remains committed to protecting public property and ensuring public resources are preserved for the benefit of all Kenyans.
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