Housing and Urban Development Principal Secretary Charles Hinga addresses journalists during a briefing on the Affordable Housing Programme at Ardhi House, Nairobi, July 22, 2026.
The government has been put on the spot over the acquisition of land meant for the construction of affordable housing units in Meru, after a court found that a 6.9-acre parcel was grabbed by the Ministry of Lands, Housing and Urban Development.
The court found that the Lands Ministry and Affordable Housing Board exercised impunity and declared their action unconstitutional.
Tigania East MP Mpuru Aburi.
In November 2025, area MP Mpuru Aburi oversaw the forceful takeover of the piece of land at Kiguchwa, Tigania East, owned by Mutethia Farmers’ Cooperative Society.
The society moved to court after the takeover, during which hired individuals cut down coffee bushes and macadamia trees to pave the way for the affordable housing project.
At the time of filing the suit, the ministry was preparing to fence off the plot to pave the way for the contractor to move in.
In the petition, the farmers accused the State of unconstitutionally invading, fencing off, and interfering with access and use of the land.
They sued the Cabinet Secretary for Lands, State Department for Housing and Urban Development, the Affordable Housing Board, the Attorney General, Meru Governor, Meru Lands Executive, and Mr Aburi.
The petitioners argued that due process, including public participation and prompt payment in full of just compensation before possession, was not done.
They told the court that the respondents had infringed on Articles 10, 40, 47, 50 and 65 of the Constitution.
In defence, Housing and Urban Development Principal Secretary Charles Hinga admitted that the land belonged to the petitioner, but the site had been identified by Mr Aburi, the area member of parliament.
“The MP engaged an official of the Cooperative Society to have the land surrendered to the government for affordable housing. Thereafter, the department approached the officials of the petitioners who agreed to surrender the suit property…The respondents undertook public participation, and the project was well received,” Mr Hinga stated.
However, MP Aburi did not file any response to the petition.
In a precedent-setting judgment, Justice Oguttu Mboya of the Environment and Land Court in Meru ordered the Lands ministry to pay the coffee cooperative Sh5 million for grabbing their land.
The judge specifically ordered the Cabinet Secretary for Lands, State Department for Housing and Urban Development, the Affordable Housing Board and the Attorney General to pay the damages to Mutethia Farmers’ Cooperative Society for unlawfully seizing their land.
In his judgment issued on July 21, 2026, Justice Mboya cleared the Meru governor and Meru lands executive, noting that the Affordable Housing Board is a national government vehicle.
On whether the land was duly surrendered to the government by the society, the judge observed that PS Hinga did not provide any resolutions of the petitioner sanctioning the surrender.
“The petitioner, by virtue of being a body corporate, can only act through resolutions. To my mind, the assertions contained in the body of the replying affidavit by Mr Charles Hinga are devoid of any evidentiary value,” the Judge stated.
Judge Oguttu cited the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development and the affordable housing board for resorting to impunity to take possession of the property.
“The only thing that remains is to remind the named respondents that the due process of the law binds all and sundry. There is no person, whether a state agency, which is bigger than the law. We must all bow to the Constitution. That is the dictate of Article 1 of the Constitution, 2010,” he ruled.
He ordered that the housing department vacate the land and restore access, remove any unlawful fencing and cease interference with the coffee society’s ownership, terming the actions unconstitutional.
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