NLC ordered to pay Sh242m for Dongo Kundu land

The National Land Commission (NLC) has been ordered to pay a company Sh242.9 million in the next 30 days for land compulsorily acquired six years ago for building the Southern Bypass in Dongo Kundu, Mombasa.

The Environment and Land Court also ruled that the rights of Fort Properties Ltd, the owner of the land, had been violated.

Justice Lucas Naikuni also declared that Fort Properties was entitled to interest on the compensation award with effect from March 21, 2014 or from the date the Kenya National Highways Authority (Kenha), its agents or contractors entered the land.

Fort Properties told the court that NLC had not paid for the land money although the acquisition had been completed and the road built.

The judge said neither Kenha nor NLC had explained why the payment had been delayed for six years.

“Why should the petitioner or any other innocent citizen of this country who are Person Affected by the Projects (PAPs) be subjected to such inhuman, ill and unreasonable treatment for the mistake of the State and its agencies? It is unacceptable,” Justice Naikuni said.

Fort Properties had argued that it was obvious in law that compensation should have been before the land was taken and not after, as in the case.

Kenha had argued that the compulsory acquisition of the land took a long time because many other plots were being processed, not just that of the petitioner.

Kenha also said the process involved other agencies - the acquiring entity (itself), NLC and other stakeholders.

For its part, NLC argued that it was willing to pay the landowner and other affected entities once the ownership of the land was confirmed and any other encumbrance registered against the property was discharged.

The court also ordered NLC to, within 30 days, publish in the Kenya Gazette a notice de-gazetting the cancelled portion of the land that the government sought to acquire from the petitioner.

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