The Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) has secured a major victory in the fight against illegal land grabbing after the Environment and Land Court in Nairobi ordered the cancellation of a title deed for 7.11 hectares of public land valued at Sh2.8 billion within Karura Forest.
The judgment, delivered on October 23, 2025 by Justice David Mwangi, nullified the lease issued to Gigiri Court Limited, declaring that the property—known as Nairobi Block 91/386—was unlawfully excised from forest and institutional land reserved for the Kenya Technical Teachers College (KTTC).
The case, filed in 2007 by the defunct Kenya Anti-Corruption Commission (KACC), sought to reverse what the court found to be an illegal allocation and transfer of public land through a chain of fraudulent transactions dating back to the 1980s and 1990s.
According to EACC investigations, the land was initially reserved for KTTC and part of Karura Forest but was irregularly amalgamated and allocated to the late former Cabinet Minister John Joseph Kamotho, who subsequently transferred it to Gigiri Court Limited.
The company later expanded the parcel through a private survey that unlawfully added another 3.8 hectares from Karura Forest.
Justice Mwangi ruled that the allocation and lease were contrary to the Forest Act and the Government Lands Act, emphasizing that the title issued to Gigiri Court Limited was “null and void” and could not confer ownership over public land.
He further held that the constitutional principle protecting private property rights under Article 40 does not extend to unlawfully acquired property, reaffirming that the doctrine of “first registration” cannot legitimize an illegal title.
The court also found former Commissioners of Lands Wilson Gacanja and James Raymond Njenga personally liable for their “manifestly illegal and ultra vires actions” in issuing and registering the lease.
Following the ruling, the recovered parcel will revert to the government and remain part of public land.
EACC described the judgment as a “historic win” for environmental conservation and public asset protection.
“This judgment marks a major victory for the protection of public land. The recovered parcel, reserved partly as forest land and partly as institutional land, now reverts to the public and remains public property,” the Commission CEO Abdi Mohamud said in a statement.
The EACC added that it has intensified its asset recovery programme, filing over 80 recovery suits in the past year targeting properties worth approximately Sh4.8 billion.
Recent recoveries include parcels in Nyali (Sh 30 million), Bungoma (Sh 35 million), and Mombasa (Sh 50 million), as well as the auction of six prime properties recovered from former Migori Governor Okoth Obado and former Nairobi City County Treasury head Stephen Osiro, valued at Sh75.4 million.
“The Commission reaffirmed its commitment to reclaiming public assets, stating that all illegally acquired land and property “will be restored for the benefit of all Kenyans.”
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