NLC recovers 40,000 acres of land for military

The National Land Commission has ordered title deeds issued for 40,000 acres of military land cancelled.

The land includes 29 acres in Karen and 2.51 acres at the Kabete barracks, Nairobi, 4,000 acres in Eldoret, and 29.85 acres in Nanyuki.

The commission ruled that the land belonged to the Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) and was irregularly allocated to private developers.

The NLC report recommended the revocation of any letters of award or title deeds and restoration of the land to KDF.

“The commission recommends to the Chief Land Registrar to revoke the purported titles issued to Leseru Tebeson Farmers Company and vest the land to the principal secretary, Ministry of Defence.”

The commission declared that subdivisions and titles issued in respect to portions of the land were null and void and recommended that they be expunged from records.

In the report dated January 24, 2019, NLC directed the Chief Land Registrar to secure the ownership documents for KDF.

The land includes 4,000 acres in Eldoret claimed by two groups but which NLC determined were gazetted for the Kenya Ordnance Factories Corporation and Recruit Training School.

According to NLC, about 34,000 acres meant for military training at Archers Post, Samburu County, had been returned to KDF after a private rancher allowed a new survey.

During the public hearings, individuals claiming the 29 acres in Karen failed to show up while the directors of Giituamba Limited, which had claimed the parcel at the Kabete Barracks, only sent a written submission.

The director of Larisoro ranch in Samburu County agreed to surrender the section overlapping with military land.

In the case of Nanyuki, the claimants failed to appear to defend their papers while in Eldoret, Leseru Tebson Farmers Society, which had titles to 4,000 acres, appeared to defend its documents.

The NLC has sent the report to the Department of Defence and copied all the parties involved, including Lands Principal Secretary Nicholas Muraguri, the Chief Lands Registrar and the commission’s director of enforcement.

Earlier, NLC Vice Chairperson Abigael Mukolwe had said the process of allocating the land was flawed.

“The military land had already been gazetted for the Recruit Training School and Kenya Ordnance Factory. You cannot allocate land which has already been gazetted for military use,” she said.

Other officials hinted that individuals suspected of masterminding the fraud would be referred to the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions for further action.

The beneficiaries had been asked to present original plot allocation documents during the public hearings and submit five copies to the commission before the hearing date.

The documents included letter of offer or allotment, receipts of payment for allocation, development plans, deed plans, title deeds, leases and any other relevant documents of ownership.