EACC halts auction of Sh300 million public land in Nakuru

EACC officials inspecting a half-acre piece of land valued at over Sh100 million, which they recovered from a private developer in Nakuru Central Business District on March 15, 2024. [Kipsang Joseph, Standard]

The anti-graft agency Wednesday stopped the auction of prime public land that was allegedly grabbed by a private developer in Nakuru county.

The Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) South Rift regional manager Ignatius Wekesa said the land in question belonged to the Agricultural Training Centre (ATC).

He said that a private company was claiming ownership of the property.

Wekesa told journalists that the land had been advertised for auction in the local dailies by Dalali Auctioneers.

The auctioneers had issued a notice of the auction to be conducted publicly on August 23, 2024.

Wekesa said the land was part of 165 acres of ATC land worth over Sh10 billion.

He revealed that at least 50 individuals have grabbed part of the land and the matter is under investigation by the commission for recovery.

"The land is situated in a prime area where each acre is approximated to cost Sh80 million. Some of the grabbers have taken bank loans using the grabbed public property as security," said Wekesa.

EACC cautioned the public against participating in the planned auction saying they risk being conned since no person can claim ownership and sell public land.

"Therefore, any person purchasing this land risks losing it to the Government when the ongoing investigations and court process is finally completed," he said.

Wekesa revealed that the commission is also investigating other cases of alleged embezzlement of public funds at Maasai Mara University and procurement fraud at Njoro NG-CDF.

The commission commended Nakuru residents and the local Non-Governmental Organisations for providing it with valuable reports.

"On land grabbing, any grabber pretending to claim ownership of public land in this area is encouraged to consider voluntary surrender of the grabbed property to EACC without waiting for costly litigation which will still see them forfeit the grabbed property," he said.