Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) moved to court to reclaim land parcels originally designated for the Kenya Railways Corporation.
The commission filed several cases in Nairobi’s Environment and Land Court against private entities and former Land Commissioners accused of engaging in questionable real estate transactions.
The EACC seeks to recover five parcels of land at the intersection of Haile Selassie Avenue and Uhuru Highway in Nairobi.
The land originally belonged to Kenya Railways Corporation.
In 1953, Kenya Railways surrendered the portion where LR. No. 209/9640 and LR. No. 209/9641 for purposes of construction of the Post and Telecommunication Headquarters.
In 1960, Kenya Railways surrendered more land where orbiting the earlier surrender for purposes of construction of a flyover and clover leaf inter-section according to documents.
The land surrendered in 1960 includes where LR. No 209/12492.
LR. No. 209/12361 is a truncation of the road connecting from Haile Selassie Avenue to Rhodes Avenue serving Nairobi Central Railway Station, Marshalling Yard, railway residential houses and other sections of the yard.
It is part of the road junction at a T-intersection for purposes of provision of adequate space for safety and visibility for vehicular and human traffic, to avert a blind spot at the T-junction.
According to EACC, LR. No. 209/12133 was excised from a public road reserve.
On it contained a public amenity – a public toilet owned and managed by the Nairobi City Council.
LR. Nos. 209/12492, 209/9640, 209/12361, 209/9641, and 209/12133, were originally intended for use by the Kenya Railways Corporation but are now owned by private individuals.
Court papers list the plots and their owners as ELC Case No. E182/2023: LR. No 209/12492, currently owned by Arts 680 Limited and ELC Case No. E151/2023: LR. No. 209/9640, owned by Neno Evangelism Center Registered Trustees.
ELC Case No. E216/2023: LR. No. 209/12361, belonging to James Maina Nganga and ELC Case No. E079/2024: LR. No. 209/9641 and LR. No. 209/12133, both owned by Kobil Petroleum Limited (Rubis Energy) are also listed.
According to reports, the Kenya Railways Corporation surrendered LR. Nos. 209/12492, 209/9640, and 209/9641 in the 1950s and 1960s for public projects such as government building and road infrastructure.
LR. No. 209/12361 was part of a road junction intended to improve traffic safety and visibility.
On the other hand, the LR. No. 209/12133, which was originally a public road reserve, housed a public amenity—a Nairobi City Council-owned toilet.
The commission seeks to reclaim LR. No. 209/12492 from Arts 680 Limited.
This case, which is consolidated with Arts 680 Limited’s lawsuit against Kenya Railways Corporation, involves compensation and profit claims that date back to 1994.
Similarly, in ELC Case No. E079/2024, EACC v Lima Limited & 5 Others, the commission is pursuing LR Nos. 209/9641 and 209/12133, claiming compensation and mesne profits totaling Sh1.6 billion.
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