The National Land Commission (NLC) concluded hearings on a disputed parcel of land where Weston Hotel sits along Lang’ata Road.
A claim lodged by the Kenya Civil Aviation Authority (KCAA), stated that the property registered as L.R. 209/14372 was irregularly acquired from the agency, an acquisition they want to be reversed.
Acting NLC Chairperson Abigail Mbagaya, however, asked the KCAA to explain circumstances under which the parcel transferred to the first allocatee Monene Investment and Priority Limited who then sold it to Weston Hotel.
“Why we are curious is because we’ve had a scenario where the Chief Executive Officer of a State Corporation gave out the land without the authority of the Board," Mbagaya stated
"He did that progressively and until the entire land was sold then the State Corporation now files a complaint to NLC so that we can return their land,” she added.
KCAA was accused of having received the land from the Directorate of Civil Aviation (DCA) under the East African Community but never sought a title for the parcel.
According to documents, the then Commissioner of Lands moved DCA Central Stores located on the piece of land – now registered as L.R. 209/14372 – on September 26, 2002.
KCAA claimed to have established, on August 2008, that the parcel of land they claimed had been registered as L.R. 209/14372 in September 2002 and issued to two private developers – Priority Limited and Monene Investment Limited.
The matter was then reported to the Kenya Anti-Corruption Commission, now the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC), in October 2008 but further efforts to reclaim the land were unsuccessful.
Priority Limited and Monene Investment Limited were noted to have sold the land to the current owner – Weston Hotel.
Through lawyer Ahmednasir Abdullahi, the hotel told the commission it had acquired all requisite permits from the aviation agency which is a requirement for private developers undertaking construction projects close to airports.