Lands Principal Secretary Nixon Korir has been barred from frustrating the family of former President Daniel Moi from the peaceful occupation of their parcel of land in Rongai, Nakuru County.
The PS, together with Rongai MP Paul Chebor, has been sued for allegedly attempting to illegally demolish a perimeter wall and property in order to create an access road through Moi’s flower firm, Molo River Roses, using government machinery from the National Youth Service (NYS).
In her ruling, Justice Millicent Odeny issued conservatory orders restraining Mr Korir, MP Chebor and other senior Ministry of Lands officials from trespassing, entering or interfering with the boundaries or the firm’s peaceful and beneficial occupation of the land.
In the suit filed before the Environment and Lands Court in Nakuru, the Moi family-owned firm has accused the PS of conspiring with the area MP to incite the community against the firm by purporting to create an access road through the 714-acre farm.
The PS is also accused of dispatching bulldozers and other machinery from the NYS, threatening to bring down the wall and other developments on the expansive land that hosts the flower firm.
In his sworn affidavit, the firm’s Managing Director Andrew Wambua noted that Molo River Roses Limited is the registered owner of the parcel of land known as Rongai/Lengenet Block 6/11 which was subdivided from the larger parcel LR No487/26/4 registered in the name of the late former President Moi.
Daniel Arap Moi.
Photo credit: File | Nation Media Group
According to Mr Wambua, Mzee Moi successfully applied to purchase the freehold interest over LR No 487/26/4 from the Commissioner of Lands, who directed him to obtain a new seal and deed plan for issuance of the new title.
Upon obtaining the freehold interest, Mzee Moi further sought approval to subdivide the land into eight portions and re-align the road.
The application was approved by the relevant authorities including notification of approval for development before Mzee Moi obtained a certificate of compliance on October 21, 2011.
The former President then proceeded to subdivide LR No 487/26/4 into eight portions and began horticultural operations on one of the parcels for which Molo River Roses obtained its title in 2016.
“During the approval stage, there had never been any road proposed to cut across the petitioner’s parcel of land and no footpath or access road was marked on the land,” stated Mr Wambua.
The petitioner states that on May 23, the area chief informed the public of a planned meeting to be attended by MP Chebor and other senior government officials.
During the meeting, the MP through his personal assistant informed the public that there was an access road cutting through the firm that had been closed illegally. He assured the residents he would ensure it was reopened.
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The petitioner claimed that PS Korir had visited the area multiple times in May and assured residents that he would help create the access road across Moi’s expansive farm.
The court heard that the MP and the PS told residents they would use government machinery—approved by the NYS and stationed in the Kelelwa area—to forcefully demolish the fence, dam and greenhouses to erect new beacons if the firm refused to open the access road.
The petitioner fears that the MP and PS with the help of NYS bulldozers may trespass into the farm at any time to demolish infrastructure and damage crops in a bid to illegally create the access road.
The Moi-owned firm now wants the court to declare it the legal owner of the land and to permanently bar any planned construction of an access road through the farm.
The petitioner further wants the court to declare the actions of the PS and MP as a breach of constitutional rights and to issue orders permanently barring them from trespassing, surveying or undertaking any activity related to the creation of an access road through the farm.
Molo River Roses Limited has sued the PS, the MP, NYS, the Cabinet Secretary for Lands and Physical Planning, the District Land Registrar, the Director of Survey, the Inspector General of Police and the Attorney General.
In his response, the Director of Survey Wilfred Muchae argued that Molo River Roses encroached on a 30.48-meter-wide public road reserve corridor that ought to lie along the southern boundary of Rongai/Lengenet Block 6/11.
He noted that the public road reserve measures approximately 14.5 acres which he claimed was illegally annexed by Molo River Roses.
He maintained that the 30.48-meter-wide corridor is public land and is not available for alienation.
Mr Muchae further stated that the firm is a victim of misconduct by the land surveyor who failed to conduct due diligence during the subdivision survey of Rongai/Lengenet Block 6/2, which gave rise to Rongai/Lengenet Block 6/11.
“While conducting the survey, he included the public road corridor as part of Rongai/Lengenet Block 6/11 owned by the petitioner which they are not entitled to,” stated Mr Muchae.
He called for a resurvey of the land to excise the road reserve and have it surrendered to the government.
