Ethics and Ant-Corruption Commission (EACC) has recovered land worth Sh150 million grabbed by former Aide De Camp of late president Daniel Arap Moi in Nakuru.
This is after it won a case filed against Moi’s Aide De Camp Alexander Sitieney and former Commissioner of Lands Wilson Gachanja.
A 0.7024 hectare of land was grabbed from the Pyrethrum Processing Company of Kenya in 1998.
The land is located next to the Pyrethrum Headquarters and factory situated at land parcel Nakuru Municipality Block 8/11.
“In 2018, EACC, through its South Rift Regional Office in Nakuru, received a complaint from the Pyrethrum Processing Company of Kenya on alleged irregular/ illegal alienation of Land Parcel No: Nakuru Municipality Block 8/30 situated within Nakuru County Initially L.R No 451/2013, measuring 0.7024 Ha, which comprised and/or as part of Government land vested in the Pyrethrum Processing Company of Kenya (hereinafter “PPCK”) and formerly Pyrethrum Board of Kenya,” the commission said in a statement.
EACC said the lease was purportedly registered at the District Land Registry in Nakuru on 29th May 1998 and a Certificate of Lease was issued to him on the same day, without the knowledge or consent of the Pyrethrum Processing Company of Kenya, the registered owner of the land.
The commission added that on January 23, 1998, Gachanja illegally caused a Lease to be issued over the property and registered in favor of Sitieney purportedly pursuant to a Letter of Allotment despite the fact that the property was at all material times planned and set aside for use as a public utility reserved for the Pyrethrum Processing Company of Kenya.
In their investigation, EACC established that the land was legally possessed by the Pyrethrum Processing Company of Kenya
However, there was variance in the size of the subject property as the Certificate of Lease in the name of Sitieney indicates that the land measures 0.525 Hectares whereas the Survey Plan obtained from the Survey of Kenya indicates the size as 0.724 Hectares.
Justice Antony Ombyayo of the Nakuru Environment and Land Court in a ruling on March 10, 2023, said the certificate of Lease held and /or registered in favor of Sitieney in respect to Nakuru Municipality Block 8/30 was irregularly and fraudulently acquired.
He ordered rectification of the land register by the cancellation of the Lease, Certificate of Lease, and all entries on the land register in respect to Nakuru Municipality Block 8/30 held or made in favor of Sitieney so as to restore the suit property back to the Pyrethrum Processing Company of Kenya.
An order of permanent injunction against Sitieney leasing or transferring, charging, or taking possession of the land was given.
Costs of the suit and interests will be paid by the defendants.
