Wahome cancels illegal transfer of land in Makadara
The transfer of a public property in which Tom Mboya Social Hall in Nairobi sits has been revoked, Lands Cabinet Secretary Alice Wahome said yesterday.
Wahome while responding to Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna’s question on the ownership of the land, admitted that some officials at her ministry acted inappropriately by awarding Gami Properties Limited the title deed irregularly.
Wahome said she had since cancelled the irregularly awarded transfer of the public property to Gami Properties Limited.
“It is a public land. Gami Properties Limited got an irregular allocation and I would proceed to cancel that title. It will remain public property. My office misbehaved by allowing this and that was jointly done with officials of the National Land Commission (NLC). We will work using Section 79 of the Lands Registration Act,” said Wahome.
Sifuna had sought to know who holds the title deed for the parcel of land on which the Tom Mboya Social Hall sits on.
Explain circumstances
The Nairobi lawmaker further wanted Wahome to explain the circumstances under which the parcel of land came into the custody of a private developer, who has already commenced construction works.
In her response, Wahome charged that Tom Mboya Memorial Hall sits on plot number Nairobi Block 79/782, a plot that was reserved to the Ministry of Public Works for the development of a community hall on June 26, 1957, through an order of the then governor.
Wahome said the plot was leased to Kenya African National Union (Kanu) for three years from 1967 on condition that the party pays a nominal rent of Sh1 and the land remains government land.
In addition, Kanu was to remain responsible for the maintenance of the building. However, KANU applied for allocation of the plot in 1985 for a term of 99 years with effect from March 1, 1983, and the user for the plot was the social hall and offices.
Wahome told Senate plenary that Kanu however, did not pay the statutory fees in the allotment letter until April 10, 2018, and that the offer had lapsed since the acceptance and payment period for the allocation was 30 days.
She said that the Ministry of Lands would enforce strict penalties and legal consequences for individuals or entities found guilty of illegally acquiring or encroaching upon public land.
