Looming demolitions at Nyama Villa estate in Kayole
File photo of demolitions at Nyama Villa estate in Kayole, Nairobi on December 18, 2018.
A real estate firm in Nairobi is planning to start demolishing houses built on its land in Nyama Villa Estate within Kayole in Nairobi by 80 alleged grabbers who invaded the multi-billion land in 2002.
Muthithi Investments company has sued 12 of the people occupying the land but is planning to demolish their structures as the case continues at the Makadara Law Courts.
The houses are part of the structures on L.R. no. 23917 which belongs to the company but was occupied by grabbers who declined to pay for the land after they were given an opportunity.
The company had sued the grabbers who invaded its 20 acres of land at the High Court’s Environment and Land Court (ELC) in ELC civil suit number 498 of 2004 and won the suit in a ruling delivered on 13 May 2014.
The occupants who laid claim to the property appealed the ruling and lost the appeal in 2015, and Muthithi Investments obtained court orders dated 17 September 2018 to evict the grabbers from its land.
On 18 Dec 2018, Muthithi embarked on evictions and demolitions and more than 3,000 people were rendered homeless.
However, two days later, retired president Uhuru Kenyatta made interventions requesting the landlord to suspend demolitions during the holiday season.
Some of the occupants formed a company (Spine Road Gardens Limited) that entered into a sale agreement with Muthithi Investments allowing each of them to pay for the land they occupied.
The company went ahead and subdivided the land into 304 plots and obtained title deeds for the parcels, then allowed those who had built to pay for the parcels they occupied, at an agreed price.
A total of 103 of the occupants have already paid for the land and have been issued with title deeds, 120 are still paying but the 80 targeted in the demolitions have not complied with the sale agreement.
Muthithi Investments official Eliud Gitonga said they are in the process of obtaining fresh orders for selective demolitions that will only target the 80 who have defied the company’s sale agreement.
“The return of bulldozers was not our wish but that is where we are going back to,” he said.
He further said that the cost of the parcels of the land will rise to market value estimated to be Shs. 7 million for those who have not yet started paying.
The DCI carried out investigations and made inquiries from the Ministry of Lands and several agencies and established the land belongs to Muthithi Investments Limited.
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The Ministry of Lands furnished the DCI with valid certificates of search for all the parcels of land during the investigations and all of them indicate the land belongs to Muthithi Investments.
The 12 in court who are among those illegally occupying the land and have been charged with forcible detainer contrary to section 91 of the penal code after the Directorate of Criminal Investigations and the Office Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) started prosecuting them with forcible detainer.
Mr Gitonga said they have given enough time to the 80 to honour the agreement but they have declined the offer and are now going to face demolitions unless they comply with the sale agreement before the looming demolitions.
