Court orders NLC to pay man Sh65m for SGR land in 45 days

The High Court in Nairobi has ordered the National Lands Commission (NLC) to pay a man sh65 million for a 6.3-hectare land it forcefully acquired at Kitengela, Kajiado County, in 2017.

Justices Nabil Orina and George Supeyo ordered that the NLC compensate Isaac Wanjohi sh65,081,280 with 45 days for compulsory acquisition of his land for the construction of phase two’ Standard Gauge Railways (SGR).

The judges noted that it has been more than seven years since Wanjohi’s land was compulsorily acquired without compensation.

The court said that NLC had violated Wanjohi’s rights as enshrined in Articles 40 and 47 of the Constitution of Kenya 2010.

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“An order is and is hereby issued directing the 1st Respondent (NLC) to pay the Complainant (Wanjohi), within 45 days hereof, the full compensation awarded to the Complainant being the sum of Kshs. 65,081,280 for the compulsory acquisition of its proprietary interests in property known as Land Reference number KAJIADO/KITENGELA/10767 in Kajiado County,” said Justice Orina.

The court also directed NLC to pay the Wanjohi interest earned since May 3, 2018, to date at the base lending rates set by the Central Bank of Kenya. The judges noted that it is a constitutional imperative that payment must be made promptly upon compulsory acquisition.

Justice Orina said it was expected that NLC would expedite the payments as soon as the pending dispute had been resolved.

“It is our finding, therefore, that the complainant is entitled to the immediate payment of the sum of sh.65,081,220 being the amount of the award issued in respect of the compulsory acquisition of the suit property,” said Justice Orina.

In his petition, Wanjohi said that on May 3, 2018, NLC offered to pay sh. 65,081,220 for the acquisition of the suit property but failed to pay despite many reminders and demands.

Wanjohi sued NLC and Kenya Railway Corporation (KRC).

He said that NLC held on to the payments because the suit property was the subject of a court case in ELC 217 of 2012 (Machakos) consolidated with ELC Civil Suit No. 189 of 2017 (Kajiado).

However, Wanjohi said that he informed NLC when the disputes regarding the suit property were resolved in his favour through a letter dated June 19, 2023, addressed to the NLC chairperson.

In his prayers, Wanjoho sought the court to order payment of the said sum plus interest at the rate of 17 percent in accordance with Section 117 of the Land Act, 2012.

NLC failed to file any response despite taking part in the proceedings. On their part, KRC, through its senior land surveyor Nathaniel Ochieng, distanced itself from the matter and affirmed that it had no role in the delayed payment.

Ochieng said that any delay in the payment was occasioned by ongoing court cases between the owners of the respective properties.