Court orders State to pay trader Sh1.2b for bypass land

Milimani Law Courts, Nairobi

The High Court has ordered the government to compensate Mombasa businessman Karim Mohamed Hassanali with Sh1.2 billion for his land.

This is in relation to 41 acres of land compulsorily acquired for construction of the Mombasa Southern bypass and Kipevu terminal link road. 

Hassanali sued Kenya National Highways Authority (KeNHA) and the National Land Commission (NLC) for delayed compensation and violation of his property rights.

Hassanali, who owns 189 acres valued at Sh30 million an acre, argued that the acquisition of his land had not been properly handled. He claimed while KeNHA had already constructed a roundabout and flyover on the land, the NLC and KeNHA had failed to serve proper notices or request his title deed for the excised portion of the land.

He demanded Sh1.2 billion in compensation, including interest from January 2015. The NLC disputed the calculation of interest, suggesting it should be backdated to 2019 when the land ownership dispute was resolved.  

The commission also argued that the value of the land taken should only be Sh137,521,600, a figure contested by Hassanali’s legal team. A valuation expert testified that the land’s valuation for compulsory acquisition was conducted in 2017 using the market approach. 

The valuation, however, did not consider the developments on the land. The expert also clarified that the valuation was completed after the land had been gazetted for the purpose of acquisition.

In his judgment, Justice Stephen Kibunja agreed with Hassanali’s claims, stating that the compulsory acquisition process by the government was flawed and did not adhere to legal requirements.

He noted that NLC had failed to follow proper procedures, including serving statutory notices as required by law.