Nairobi — Parliament has summoned top officials from the Ministry of Lands and the National Land Commission (NLC) to clarify the ownership of the land on which the iconic Kenyatta International Convention Centre (KICC) sits.
Cabinet Secretary Alice Wahome, Principal Secretary Nixon Korir, and NLC Chair Gershom Otachi are set to appear before the National Assembly Public Investment Committee (PIC) on Commercial and Energy next week to address the issue.
Pokot South MP David Pkosing, who chairs the watchdog committee, emphasized the urgency of resolving the inquiry into the land title where the convention center is located.
"This matter is touching on our country; the accounting officer is the PS lands. NLC is an interested party; please don't allow them to interfere. What we want is the title belonging to KICC," Pkosing stated.
PS Korir had appeared before the committee to respond to audit queries regarding the irregular disposal of land belonging to the Kenya Pipeline Company but requested more time to provide comprehensive details on the KICC land issue. "Allow me not to answer this matter at the moment. I will conclusively give details on it next week," he said.
The committee had previously raised concerns about an alleged plot by NLC chiefs to alienate the prime land. The Auditor General revealed that the title deed for the land is not registered under KICC, a state corporation under the Tourism Ministry. It was disclosed that NLC officials had handed authority over the land to the Nairobi County Government, despite KICC falling under the national government.
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In July 2022, a court ruled that NLC should allocate the land to its rightful owners, prompting KICC to apply for ownership. Lawmakers questioned how NLC concluded that the land was vested in the county government instead of the national government. A letter from the Head of Public Service to the Lands Cabinet Secretary clarified that the land in dispute has been gazetted as a national monument and part of the corporation.
KANU had filed a case before the Environment and Land Court in 2020, seeking to reclaim the land, arguing it had been allocated to the party in May 1969 by the commissioner of lands. The party maintained that it held an indefeasible title to the land under Section 26 of the Land Registration Act, No. 3 of 2012, and contended that the government's takeover in February 2003 was unlawful and uncompensated.
Justice Mogeni's ruling clarified that the government repossessed the plot in 1971 and subsequently allocated funds to complete the building, officially opened by Kenya's first president, Mzee Jomo Kenyatta, in September 1973. Despite KANU's claims, the court affirmed that the government had managed and maintained the complex with public funds.
