The National Lands Commission (NLC) has ordered compensation for Litha Kathumba and Amina Mbula, daughters of Beatrice Syokau Kathumba, for 50.2 acres of land adjacent to Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA). The ruling, published in a February 15 Gazette notice, resolves a dispute over ancestral property originally purchased by their father, John Kathumba Makuthi, in 1917 for 700 cows and goats from a white settler.
Syokau’s family claimed ownership of 6,000 acres later occupied by JKIA, but the NLC rejected their broader claim. The commission acknowledged a squatter right for the 22.6-hectare homestead where Syokau lived, though it noted the site lay in a flight path and contained unstable structures. The decision also mandates revocation of titles for over 50 companies operating on the disputed land.
The conflict intensified after Syokau’s 2009 abduction, which led to her death in 2014 while hospitalized at Kenyatta National Hospital. Her burial remains delayed due to a contested permit linked to her abductors. The NLC’s verdict followed years of legal battles, including claims that Syokau lost title deeds in 1997 and paid for subdivision approval in 2004, only to discover parts of the land had been registered to strangers.
An inquest into Syokau’s disappearance and death, scheduled for March 18, remains unresolved. The case highlights longstanding issues with land documentation and corruption, as the family alleged fraudulent acquisition of their inheritance after John Kathumba’s death in 1989.
