Sonko: Missing Pangani, Jee-van-Jee title deeds were used to borrow Sh1.9B loan

Former Nairobi governor Mike Sonko has distanced himself from accusations that he left City Hall office with title deeds for parcels of lands on which Pangani and Jee-van-Jee affordable housing projects stand.

Sonko said the deeds were used by the project developer as collateral to acquire a loan of Sh1.9 billion.

Responding to accusations levelled against him at the County Assembly Lands and Housing Committee that he was withholding the documents, the former governor said the palms of some individuals could have been greased.

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The committee chaired by Kitusuru MCA Alvin Olando was grilling some members of the Executive led by Lands CEC Patrick Mbogo on why the projects had stalled.

Some witnesses said the title deeds that ought to have been used to borrow loans to complete the projects could not be traced and claimed Sonko had kept them.

“The title was taken to the bank as a special purpose vehicle to secure financing,” Sonko told the Press at his private office in Nairobi’s Upper Hill area on Friday. 

He stated that the title deeds were charged for Sh1.9 billion by a local bank and the charge was registered in May 2023 when he had already left the office.

Sonko said the County Assembly recently passed a motion to allow title deeds of the Nairobi Urban Renewal Projects, where the Pangani Affordable Housing Project falls, to be used as security by developers to access funding.

He said some individuals at City Hall were beneficiaries of the process challenging Governor Sakaja’s administration to complete the projects.

Alvin Olando, the County Assembly Lands and Housing Committee chairman noted that the projects had stopped due to lack of funds.

“We have also established that the projects are not going on yet the county received money from buyers who expected to be handed the houses last year,” he said.

The affordable housing project done in collaboration with the national and county governments was launched four years ago during the regime of former President Uhuru Kenyatta.

While the Pangani Affordable Housing Project falls under the Nairobi City County, it is among the housing projects under the government where individuals can own units at subsidised prices as a result of a Public Private Partnership (PPP) between developers and the State.

Initially, the project was projected to be completed by June 2023.