The Kenya Broadcasting Corporation (KBC) has won a court dispute involving ownership of a 1,244-acre piece of land in Komarock, Machakos County, valued at over Sh10 billion.
This follows a ruling by the Environment and Land Court upholding KBC’s ownership of the vast property located along Kangundo Road and awarding it Sh1 million in damages for trespass.
The land hosts one of KBC’s key transmission stations and is registered in the name of the Permanent Secretary to the National Treasury as trustee for the Ministry of Information and Communication, under which KBC operates.
The dispute began in June 2013 after Komarock Ranching and Farming Co-operative Society accused the government and the state broadcaster of unlawfully taking its land without compensation.
The society argued that it had only allowed the broadcaster to occupy 23 acres and that the remainder should revert to it or attract fresh compensation.
KBC sued the cooperative in 2017, arguing that the land had been compulsorily acquired by the government in 1979 for public use and that full compensation had been paid under the law then in force.
After reviewing the competing claims and documentary evidence, the court ruled in favour of KBC.
Justice Nelly Matheka cited gazette notices published in August 1979, official correspondence and payment records confirming that the society had been compensated Sh408, 500 for 500 hectares (1,244 acres) acquired for the Komarock transmission station.
“I am satisfied that after the said Gazette Notices and upon participation by the affected party, Komarock Ranching and Farming Co-operative Society Ltd was duly compensated and gave vacant possession of the land,” said the judge.
KBC has won a court dispute involving ownership of a 1,244-acre piece of land in Komarock, Machakos County, valued at over Sh10 billion.
Photo credit: Shutterstock
The court declared KBC the lawful beneficial owner of the property registered as LR No Donyo Sabuk/Komarock Block 1/9218.
It also barred Komarock Ranching and Farming Cooperative Society Limited (also known as Komarock Housing and Cooperative Society) and Komarock Ranching Company Limited, or their agents, from dealing in any manner with the land.
The court relied on letters from the then Commissioner of Lands and the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, as well as a payment voucher showing the society had been paid Sh408,500 for the contested property.
A key letter dated January 15, 1980, written by the society’s chairman at the time, confirmed the withdrawal of any intention to appeal against the compensation award.
Further evidence showed that since then, KBC has been in possession of and occupying the land, where it has been carrying out transmission and broadcasting through transmitters erected on the property.
The court held that the society was estopped from denying knowledge of the acquisition, stating that claims of fraudulent acquisition were unsupported.
“I find that no evidence of fraud on the part of the plaintiff (KBC) has been adduced,” it said.
Beyond ownership, the court found that the society trespassed on the property in 2013 and again in 2017 by attempting to subdivide the land and place beacons, prompting KBC to seek police protection and court injunctions.
Although KBC did not prove the full extent of damage caused by the trespass, the court awarded nominal general damages of Sh1 million.
The final orders included a permanent injunction restraining the defendants from entering, subdividing, transferring or interfering with the land, costs of the suit awarded to KBC, and dismissal of the society’s counterclaim and related petition.
