This archive report was first published on 14 November 2019.
On November 14, 2019, Mombasa-based tycoon Ashok Doshi filed a lawsuit against Governor Hassan Joho, County Chief Officer for Lands Jaffar Mosheh, and Changamwe MCA Bernard Ochieng Ogutu at the High Court in Mombasa.
Doshi is seeking an order for the arrest and jailing of Joho, Mosheh, and Ochieng for violating a court order. He alleges that they revoked his title deed to a two-acre prime land in Changamwe and demolished his property.
According to Doshi's lawyer, Willis Oluga, Joho abused his powers and office to illegally revoke the title deed and demolish the property. Oluga presented a video clip in court showing Joho, Mosheh, and Ochieng supervising the demolition of the gate on the property.
On the video, Joho is heard stating that the land belongs to the county government and that he had revoked the title. Oluga claimed that Joho had hired about 100 goons and stormed the property with bulldozers, bringing down the perimeter wall and gate estimated to cost Sh2 million.
Oluga argued that Joho and his officers were bound by a court order issued on March 6, 2019, which stopped the county government from interfering with the suit. However, Joho had accused Doshi of grabbing the land, which he claims belongs to Changamwe Secondary School.
However, Doshi maintains that he purchased the land from Turf Developers Limited, which had a government lease of 99 years with effect from December 1995 at an annual rent of Sh50,000. Mombasa County lawyer Tajbhai Tajbhai denied that Joho issued orders to demolish Doshi's property, while Mosheh claimed that he was on leave when the demolition occurred and had no part in it.
