This archive report was first published on 3 November 2021.
State secures disputed Sh135m Murang’a land ¶
On November 3, 2021, the government secured a 50-acre land in Murang’a County that was subject of an ownership dispute.
The land was acquired from Bishop David Kariuki Ngari, who is associated with the collapsed Ekeza Sacco, after the State made payments of Sh82 million in January 2018 and further Sh52 million.
Despite the National Land Commission (NLC) paying for the land in full on behalf of the government in January 2018, the State was yet to secure the title deed.
The government had been unable to secure the land owing to the protracted ownership dispute between Mr Ngari, Family Bank, and the Asset Recovery Agency (ARA).
However, the Asset Recovery Agency (ARA) had moved to court to put a caveat on the land to secure the interests of the government.
According to Housing and Urban Development Principal Secretary Charles Hinga, the land now belongs to the government, and the remaining administrative issues are like surveying and subdivision.
The project was aimed at solving the solid waste management challenges in Murang’a, Kiambu, and Nairobi counties.
Parliament started probing the transaction after the Auditor-General Nancy Gathungu flagged it in a special audit on the compulsory acquisitions made by the National Land Commission (NLC) on behalf of other government agencies for the period 2014/15 and 2016/17.
The World Bank had already pumped Sh800 million into the project by the time the Auditor General raised concern.
