Former Nairobi Governor Mike Sonko has been vindicated in a long-running land dispute after the Environment and Land Court in Kwale found that former Msambweni MP Omari Zonga unlawfully sold the same parcel of land twice — and ordered him to refund the buyer KSh7.9 million.
Delivering judgment in ELC Case No. 166 of 2021 — Southern Bay Limited vs Gidion Mbuvi Kioko & Others, Justice A.E. Dena ruled that Omari Mbwana Zonga, the third defendant, had no legal capacity to sell the land known as Kwale/Kinondo Ramisi SSS/193 to Southern Bay Limited in April 2014, having already sold and transferred it to Sonko in March 2013.
The court found that the former legislator deliberately concealed the earlier sale, misleading the second buyer into believing the land was available for purchase.
“The third defendant had no capacity, both legally and morally, to sell or transfer the suit property to the plaintiff when he knew very well he had already transferred it to another party,” said Justice Dena.
The court dismissed all fraud allegations against Sonko and the Land Registrar, ruling that the plaintiff’s claim lay solely against the fraudulent vendor.
Justice Dena ordered Zonga to refund the full purchase price of Sh7,750,000 plus stamp duty of Sh155,040, with interest from December 2018 until payment in full, and to bear all legal costs of the suit.
In a strongly worded judgment, the judge underscored the importance of due diligence in land transactions.
“Equity suffers no wrong without a remedy. It would amount to unjust enrichment to let the third defendant retain the purchase price,” she stated.
The verdict, delivered virtually on October 3, 2025, ends a four-year legal battle that had cast a spotlight on rampant double land sales at the Coast.Sonko had also entered into an agreement to sell the same land to German investor Mr. Hans Rudolf for Sh195 million, but the transaction was halted pending the outcome of the case.
