EACC recovers grabbed Kenya Railways land in Kisumu

The Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) has recovered public land valued at Sh25 million that was illegally allocated to a private individual in Kisumu County.

Justice Samson Okong’o of the Kisumu Environment and Land Court ordered the cancellation of the title for Kisumu Municipality Block 7/559, issued to Fred Ogonji, ruling that it was fraudulently obtained.

The land, measuring 0.1116 hectares, is part of Kenya Railways Corporation’s property and was not available for private allocation.

“The property was public land and could not be legally transferred to an individual,” said Okong’o.

EACC investigations revealed that the land originally belonged to the defunct East African Railways and Harbors Administration, as per Legal Notice No. 440 of 1963. In 1986, it was transferred to Kenya Railways Corporation through Legal Notice No. 24 of 1986.

Twelve years later, the land was unlawfully allocated to Ogonji, who received an allotment letter on October 12, 1998.

 The Commissioner of Lands at the time, Sammy Komen Mwaita, later issued a Certificate of Lease on June 30, 2000, finalising the illegal transfer.

EACC moved to court in 2009, seeking a declaration that the land was public property and requesting the revocation of Ogonji’s title.

The court ruled that the lease was null and void, confirming that the land had already been designated for public use.

This recovery is one of several properties EACC has reclaimed in Kisumu County. Other cases include land belonging to the Kisumu Law Courts, Kenya Railways at Kisumu Port, and the KIWASCO water treatment plant.

Kisumu County has faced persistent land-grabbing cases, with EACC pursuing claims on properties valued at over Sh4 billion that remain pending in court.