The Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) has moved to court seeking the recovery of 7.6 acres of public land worth Sh790 million in Kisumu, which it says was illegally excised from Kenya Prisons Service land and transferred to private individuals.
In a statement issued on Tuesday, July 21, the Commission said it had commenced civil proceedings to recover the land located in Milimani, Kisumu City, adding that the property’s value rises to an estimated Sh4.3 billion, including developments currently standing on it.
According to the EACC, the disputed land forms part of an original 16-acre parcel that had been reserved for the Kenya Prisons Service to accommodate staff housing and regional offices.
“The disputed land, currently valued at approximately KES 790 million excluding developments and an estimated KES 4.3 billion including developments, forms part of an original 16-acre parcel that had been reserved for the Kenya Prisons Service,” the Commission said.
Investigations were launched following a petition filed by the Kenya Prisons Service in February 2022, requesting a probe into the alleged unlawful occupation, subdivision and alienation of the land.
The Commission said investigations established that the land had been reserved for prison use under colonial-era planning instruments before being reaffirmed as public land for prison infrastructure in subsequent government development plans.
According to the EACC, investigations further revealed that in or around 1989, the then assistant minister for home affairs and heritage, working in concert with other public officials, allegedly acquired the 7.6-acre parcel through fraudulent and unlawful processes.
“The alleged acquisition was facilitated through forged and irregular documentation, including a fake allotment letter and altered development plans,” the Commission stated.
The Commission said the land’s intended public use was later abandoned and the property was subdivided into 92 parcels, which were transferred to private individuals. The area is now fully developed and commonly known as Winam Estate, also referred to as Grace Ogot Estate.
EACC is seeking the cancellation of all resultant land titles, declarations that the transactions were illegal, fraudulent, null and void, and the restoration of the land to the Kenya Prisons Service.
The Commission said it has already filed nine asset recovery suits before the Environment and Land Court in Kisumu as part of the first phase of the recovery process, reiterating that public land must be protected and used strictly in accordance with the Constitution and the law.
