By Lauryne Akoth
The Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission EACC has moved to court seeking to acquire four properties allegedly grabbed from the Kenya Railways Corporation in the Nairobi Central Business District.
According to EACC, the four parcels of land are valued at Kshs 1.6 Billion and they include; Pastor Ng’ang’a’s Neno Evangelism Church, a company linked to the Biwott properties, Arts 680 Limited, and Rubis Energy.
The aforementioned are defendants in a suit filed by the EACC in the Environment and Lands Court. In the suit, EACC has asked the court to nullify title deeds illegally acquired by private entities and high-profile individuals.
They claimed the illegal occupation of the land by the defendants in the suit has denied the public the right to benefit from it. In addition to repossession of the land, the EACC wants the defendants to pay KSHS 1.6 Billion in profits for illegal occupation of the lands.
The Kenya Railways Corporation has since distanced itself from allegations of the demolition of a section of Bishop Wanjiru’s land on Wednesday. They argued that a wall was put up to secure a national security Installation in the area.
Wanjiru asserted that the shared parking area with investors from Haile Selassie Street had been unlawfully taken over and a section of her church demolished.
The land conflict between the Kenya Railways Corporation and Bishop Wanjiru is a longstanding issue. In 2022, a court dismissed a case challenging the construction of a wall between the Kenya Railways land and The Jesus Is Alive Ministries Church.
The petition was filed by Bishop Margaret Wanjiru’s Jesus Is Alive Ministries and three other petitioners; Rambai Patel, S&H Investments, and Soma Properties. The petitioners sued Kenya Railways Corporation, Nairobi Metropolitan Services, and Kenya Urban Roads Authority.
They stated that the construction of the wall obstructed their access to Railway Lane, Exchange Lane, Weruga Lane, and Haile Selassie Avenue. In response to their petition, the Kenya Railways Corporation contended that the land housing the Jesus Is Alive Ministries and other properties along that lane belonged to them.
Railways argued that the allocation of land to those properties was irregular, separating them from Railways properties. This is the reason why the EACC is also taking legal action against former Land Commissioners.