Land Court slaps National Land Commission with Sh230 million fine for dispossessing a family of their land

Nyeri, Thursday, May 4, 2023

KNA by Wangari Mwangi/ Samuel Maina

The Land and Environment Court in Nyeri has ordered the National Land Commission (NLC) to pay Sh230 million to a Nyeri family for wrongfully dispossessing them of a 54.55-hectare parcel of land and subsequently handing the same to the Ministry of Agriculture.

The parcel of land that hosts the Wambugu Farmers Agricultural Training Centre, the Central Region Kenya Meteorological Station and the Kenya School of Agriculture was initially owned by the family of colonial-era chief Wambugu Mathangani.

Before the protracted court battle began in 2007, it is said that Mathangani leased about 200 acres of his over 3,500 acres of land to the defunct Nyeri County Council in 1957 as an agricultural demonstration farm for the region.

Upon the expiry of the lease, the Ministry of Agriculture in 2006 approached the family with intentions of buying the land. Court records show that the Ministry committed to buy 134 acres and it was to relinquish the remaining undeveloped parcel of land back to the family.

The bone of contention for both the NLC and the family has been the amount to be awarded as compensation. The family contracted an independent valuer who estimated the land would cost about Sh420 million but the government invoked the law on compulsory acquisition and settled for Sh145.6 million as compensation leading to the beginning of a protracted court battle pitting the family and the Ministry of Lands as the State could not explain how it had arrived at Sh145 million.

An inquiry held in 2007 ascertained that the property had 35 beneficiaries who were found eligible to receive compensation of Sh 145.6 million for compulsory acquisition. But in an application filed by the chairman of the family trustee Ephraim Wambugu, beneficiaries contested the decision by the Commissioner of Lands to award them Sh145 million as compensation for the land and the infrastructure developments therein.

The family termed the amount as an under valuation and instead asked the court to substitute the figure with Sh427.5 million or Sh439 million which had been arrived at by two valuers hired by the family.

“The appellant is seeking orders that the award of Sh145.6 million be set aside and it be substituted with either Sh427.6 million or Sh439 million as contained in the two Valuation Reports prepared by two Valuers that were hired by the appellant,” reads part of the judgment.

Similarly, the Lands Court in 2022 had ordered the Ministry of Lands to surrender a title deed for the 54.55-hectare piece of land after the court established that it had been illegally acquired. In his ruling, Justice James Olola said the court would retain the title deed until the beneficiaries had been fully compensated. Justice Olola also noted that the certificate of title acquired by the government was obtained contrary to the law.

“The constitution demands that where land is so acquired, the just compensation is to be paid promptly in full to those like the plaintiff whose interest in the land have been determined,” said Justice Olola in his ruling in May 2022.

While making his final determination on Thursday last week regarding the matter Justice Olola ruled that the NLC pay the family Sh200 million as compensation for the land and an additional Sh30 million as compensation for the buildings and improvements. He also explained that the initial sum quoted by the family was quite exaggerated and he had arrived at a reasonable price of Sh400, 000 for a quarter of an acre. Justice Olola also stated that the NLC had failed to justify how it had arrived at the Sh145 million as compensation and as such, he had no choice but to set aside the December 2007 ruling.

“I was persuaded that the appellant was only entitled to a nominal value of the improvements made on the land. Accordingly, I allow the appeal and make the orders that the respondent is hereby directed to award and pay the appellant a sum total of Sh200 million as just compensation. The respondent is hereby directed to award and pay the appellant the sum of Sh30 million as just compensation for the buildings and improvements made on the land,” said Justice Olola.

The Nyeri National Land Commission County Coordinator, Naomi Kamau, could not be reached for a comment as her mobile phone was off.

Courtesy; K.N.A