This archive report was first published on 30 June 2019.
On June 30, 2019, the High Court in Mombasa issued a ruling that halted the release of Sh10.5 million to Joshua Kafuta Mtila, a man who was awarded compensation for his land acquired for the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) construction.
The court's decision came after Abdulkhal Mohamed made an application to stop the release of the money, claiming that Mtila was a squatter on the land. Mohamed argued that the court should not have awarded the money to Mtila, as he had appealed against the judgment.
According to the court documents, Mtila had occupied the land at Miritini for more than 20 years and had been declared the owner after the court ruled in his favor. However, Mohamed claimed that the appeal was still pending and that the money should not be released until the appeal was resolved.
Justice Anne Omolo allowed the application for stay, stating that every person has a right to be heard, which involves giving parties the opportunity of pursuing legal redress. The judge also agreed with Mohamed that if the money was released to Mtila, it would be difficult to recover it from him.
"The amount of compensation due on the suit property is huge and in the event the appeal succeeds, the applicant may not be able to recover the funds if all from Mtila," Justice Omolo said.
