The Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) has successfully recovered public land worth Sh50 million that had been illegally allocated to a private developer in Mombasa County. The property, situated in the Kenya Railways Light House Kizingo Estate, was reclaimed following a court-sanctioned consent agreement.
The contested land, known as Mombasa/Block XXVI/1137, measures approximately 0.0873 hectares and lies along Pwani Road near the junction with David Kayanda Road. Originally developed by the East African Railways and Harbours Corporation in the 1950s, the plot houses a four-bedroom residence and a garage that have remained under the control of the Kenya Railways Corporation (KRC) since inception.
Investigations by the EACC revealed that the land had been irregularly and illegally allocated to Kizingo Apartments Limited before being transferred to Kizingo Condominium Limited in December 2011. In response, the Commission filed a recovery suit on July 7, 2020, at the Environment and Land Court in Mombasa.
The matter was resolved through an Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) process, culminating in a consent agreement adopted by Justice Stephen Kibunja. As part of the settlement, Kizingo Condominium Limited agreed to surrender the original Certificate of Lease and facilitate rectification of the land registry to reflect Kenya Railways Corporation as the rightful owner.
The court also issued a permanent injunction against Kizingo Condominium Limited, barring them from selling, transferring, or otherwise dealing with the property except to return it to KRC.
“The 2nd Defendant be and hereby agrees to surrender the Original Certificate of Lease… for purposes of effecting cancellation… and rectification of the entries by the Land Registrar in favour of the Kenya Railways Corporation,” the consent letter reads in part.
EACC has reiterated its commitment to recovering public assets lost through fraud and corruption. The Commission has encouraged individuals and entities in possession of such properties to voluntarily surrender them for their intended public use, warning of legal consequences for non-compliance.
This recovery marks a significant win in the ongoing effort to safeguard public resources and uphold integrity in land ownership and management.
