Court Ruling Saves School Land Along Thika Road
The Environment and Land Court in Thika has imposed temporary injunctions preventing two individuals from selling or developing a disputed nine-acre tract of land said to belong to a public school, pending the outcome of an EACC lawsuit.
The orders were issued when EACC filed to repossess land in Kahawa Sukari, Ruiru, Kiambu County, which the Commission believes was illegally purchased and transferred from public educational use to private residential ownership.
According to the EACC, the site known as Ruiru/Kiu Block 3/1372 was initially designated for the construction of a secondary school in the Kahawa Sukari Residential Scheme.
It was formed from the subdivision of Land Reference No. 10901/20, which is owned and developed by Kahawa Sukari Limited.
When the developer sought government approval for the residential project, the Commission stated that the area was one of several lots set aside for public use.
Furthermore, one of the requirements for approval required the corporation to reserve an area for community facilities, including schools.
However, EACC claims the corporation violated these restrictions by selling the land to private individuals before completing the lease obligations.
In 2005, Kahawa Sukari Limited sold the site to two individuals without establishing the proposed school or receiving Commissioner of Lands approval.
“The Commission has instituted court proceedings seeking to recover a parcel of land in Ruiru, Kiambu County, which was irregularly converted from public (educational) use to private residential use,” the commission revealed.
EACC told the court that the sale violated the lease, which required that construction of the school begin within 24 months and prohibited any sale, subdivision, or change of use without written consent from the government.
Despite these issues, the new owners petitioned for a change of use in 2015, hoping to convert the property into residential units.
The request was illegally approved by the then-Director of Physical Planning in the Kiambu County Government, allowing the land to be divided into 37 residential plots.
“The property was public land reserved for education. Its sale and conversion to private residential use were irregular and unlawful,” EACC stated.
“The subsequent subdivisions and issuance of new titles were tainted by fraud and illegality.”
The suit filed at Thika Environment and Land Court aims to annul all subsequent titles and return the land to the government.
The Commission also wants the land registered in the name of the Kiambu County Government in order to restore it to its intended public use.
The Commission informed the court that the irregular sale and change of user robbed the Kahawa Sukari community of a vital educational facility.
The land, valued at Ksh250 million in 2019, had been designated for the construction of a secondary school within the estate.
Court Ruling Saves School Land Along Thika Road
