National Lands Commission (NLC) refuted claims of scheming to compensate a cartel over Ksh8 billion for the land acquired in Mazeras, Kilifi County, for the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) construction.
NLC chairperson Gerishom Otachi on Tuesday, December 13, absolved the commission from the scandal.
Otachi dismissed claims that some lands official were working with the cartel to deprive over 30 individuals of their compensation money.
According to the NLC chairperson, the commission had yet to set aside Ksh8 billion as purported to compensate individuals who were displaced to pave the way for SGR construction.
“That figure is nothing that I know about and is not anything that the commission knows anything about,” Otachi told Citizen TV.
“If we had the details of who the claimants are, we would be able to provide a better answer. But there is no such compensation of Ksh8 billion in that part of the region,” he added.
National Lands Commission further dispelled reports that the same cartel at the centre of the SGR land compensation fiasco had claimed ownership of an access road in the Mombasa International Airport.
Otachi maintained that the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) had filed a law suit on the same land.
“I do know that there is a court case that is filed by EACC to recover some land around that area.”
An anonymous Kenyan bought advertisemnt space on Daily Nation on Tuesday, December 13, exposing the alleged scheme involving land officials.
In his letter published on page eight of the Daily Nation, he appealed to President William Ruto to intervene to save the exchequer from losing Ksh11.16 billion.
The anonymous Kenyan splashed over Ksh250,000 to expose the scheme.
“How a Single Daring Cartel Entrenched at the National Land Commission Are Working to Rob The Kenyan Exchequer of Ksh11.16 Billion,” the letter directed to Ruto read in part.
“The Kenyan government cannot afford to lose tens of billions of shillings to graft cartels and their proxies. To achieve your most noble promises to the Kenyan people, this must stop,” the aggrieved Kenyan maintained.
In the same open letter to Ruto, a Kenyan whose identity was not immediately established alleged that the same cartel had claimed ownership of the Miritini Forest in Mombasa. He expressed fear that if not stopped, the government risked losing Ksh1.4 billion.
“Astonishingly, the very same cartel proxy also claims he owns Miritini Mangrove Forest, Foreshore Conservancy and wants Kenya Railways Corporation to pay vide NLC for apparently using his land,” the claimant wrote.
Source: kENYANS.CO.KE