By Anderson Ojwang
The rush to invest in one of Kisumu’s upmarket estates may soon come back to haunt investors and developers as the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) plans to move in and recover grabbed public land.
Regional Director of the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC), Central Nyanza region, Mr. Abraham Kemboi, said some estates in the Milimani area have been constructed on public land, denying Kenyans the intended public value.
He named Block 12 in the Milimani area as one of the parcels the Commission intends to recover.
Kemboi said they will also recover Block Nine (9), where real estate investors and developers have built multi-million-shilling properties.
He said unscrupulous individuals grabbed the public land and sold the parcels to innocent and unsuspecting Kenyans, who subsequently developed them.
“Some estates in the Milimani area, such as Block 12, were grabbed, and we intend to recover the same.
We are also looking at Block Nine, which historically belonged to the Kenya Prisons. Some unscrupulous Kenyans took away land that belonged to the Prisons and sold it to unsuspecting Kenyans.
Those Kenyans developed the grabbed land, but we are moving in to ensure that the parcel is returned to the Kenya Prisons Service,” he said.
In Milimani, several government houses have also been grabbed, with some rented back to various government departments, which are now paying rent for them.
“We will recover that parcel of land, including taking action against all government officers who were involved in the fraudulent allocation.
We will recover what we believe are the proceeds—the income you have earned—from irregularly occupying that government property,” he said.
He noted that grabbing of public premises is common in the Milimani area, where individuals have taken over government houses and rented them back to the same government.
“Some commissions are being housed in premises and paying rent for what they should not be paying,” he said.
Kemboi said 40 percent of public land and properties in Kisumu have been grabbed, including land belonging to three police stations—Kasagam Police Station, Car Wash Police Station, and Mamboleo Police Station.
“It cannot be that as a private person you have taken away a police station and want our police officers to be squeezed into a corner while you, as a private person, own the largest part of the police station.
Examples of police stations whose parcels of land have been grabbed are concentrated in Kisumu East Constituency. A police station in Kasagam, a police station in Car Wash, and a police station in Mamboleo Showgrounds have had most of their parcels of land grabbed,” he said.
He wondered how grabbers have acted with such impunity as to even acquire police station land.
“It is very interesting that people can be so daring that they want to take away police land and evict officers who guarantee our security.
You want to feel so nice; you want to look like an entrepreneur. How can you be that enterprising when most of the time you focus on taking away what belongs to all of us?” he said.
Kemboi reiterated that 40 percent of public land in Kisumu has been grabbed and that the Commission is working to recover it.
“Generally, about 40 percent of public land that was earmarked for public use is actually in the wrong hands.
When I speak of public land, I refer to land earmarked for Kenya Railways, Kenya Prisons, public housing, police stations, and other public utilities such as schools, roads, and health facilities. Most of these parcels are in the wrong hands,” he said.
Kisumu County was last year categorised among six counties in the country identified as hotspots for land theft.
He said the EACC was undertaking measures to return the grabbed public land to the government.
“As a Commission, we have taken steps to ensure that these lands are returned to the public for the benefit of all of us.
Most of the reports reaching my office, especially in Kisumu East Constituency where grabbing is rampant, indicate that we are moving in to recover those grabbed parcels of land,” he said.
He warned grabbers that they risk prosecution and forfeiture of investments made on grabbed public land.
“We want to warn these grabbers that you will be wasting your investments when you deploy your resources on land that was traditionally and historically set aside for public use by the people of Kenya,” he said.
Kemboi expressed optimism that most of the grabbed land will be recovered and reverted to the public for its intended purpose.
“You are wasting your investment. The law has been clarified in Kenya, and precedent has been set that whatever was set aside for public use will revert to its original and intended purpose. No one under the law has the authority to grab public land and make it their own,” he said.