City officials ‘approved fence’

City County officials authorised the construction of the perimeter wall on the disputed Lang’ata Road Primary School playground.

At the same time, former Nairobi Mayor Geoffrey Majiwa denied owning the controversial plot or having been involved in its allocation.

The Department of Urban Planning and Housing on December 11, last year, approved a proposal by Airport View Housing Ltd to erect the wall.

Nairobi Governor Evans Kidero Tuesday defended the officials, saying they approved the request based on the ownership documents the firm presented, which appeared genuine.

Dr Kidero said that only after crosschecking later did they discover that the documents were fake.

The Nation had earlier reported City County officials facilitated the hiving off of the land and approved the setting up of the wall with correspondence showing that they were aware of the disputed ownership.

However, during an interview with Nation FM, on Monday, the county executive committee member for Lands, Housing and Physical Planning, Mr Tom Odongo, said they did not authorise the construction.

“The wall was built during the long holiday,” he said, adding that they treated the construction as un-authorised development but they could not demolish it as Airport View Housing had obtained a court order restraining the county government from pulling it down.

Mr Odongo said they were planning to go to court to seek a revocation of the order.

Mr Majiwa, who was the mayor between 2008 to 2010, said the disputed land had never been the property of the defunct city council for him to have taken part in its allocation.

“This is government land, which can only be allocated by the Commissioner of Lands,” he told the Nation by telephone.

Meanwhile, the City Assembly committee for Education has demanded that action be taken against the officials who colluded with the developer to grab the school’s land.

Addressing a press conference outside the assembly chambers, committee chairman David Kitavi said the officials were known and should face disciplinary action immediately.

FIRE JUNIOR OFFICERS

“The governor suspended Mrs Rose Muema but left the County Executive Tom Odongo, why should he fire junior officers and leave the Mr Odongo where the buck stops?” Mr Kitavi posed.

The committee also urged the governor to implement an education report that had shown that over 10 schools out of the 205 in Nairobi had parts of their land grabbed.

He slighted the executive over lack of goodwill stating that the report had been lying with the governor since July last year yet no action was being pursued.

The officials will also be summoned on January 29, by the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) to answer why they had told the committee they had no information about the ownership of the land then went behind their backs and approved the hiving off.

“When they appeared before us they claimed they did not know about the Langata case and another at Machakos Country Bus along Landhies road, how come they are again able to assure the developer that the ownership of the school playground is not contested,” he said.

A council leasehold he explained is signed by the mayor and the town clerk.

“A mayor can only be involved in such allocation if it was a City Council Leasehold,” an angry Mr Majiwa said and complained that the media has been trying to link him with the Lang’ata Road Primary School saga for reasons he’s yet to understand.

And he dismissed this as witch-hunt saying people should stop mentioning his name in relation to this controversy.

The National Lands Commission confirmed that the school acquired a title deed for the playground in 1972.

And the land in dispute NLC Chairman Muhammad Swazuli said was, amalgamated with the school title in 1974. It is between 1984 to 1989, he added that some people started laying claim on this land.

In its report the Commission of Inquiry into the Illegal/Irregular Allocation of Public Land popularly known as The Ndung’u Report, did not mention the controversial piece.

ACTION AGAINST CITY HALL OFFICIALS

The report, which was prepared in December 2004 investigated illegal allocations of public land in the country.
Meanwhile County Assembly Education Committee have demanded action be taken against officials in city hall who colluded with the developer to grab the school land.

Speaking at a press conference outside the assembly  chambers yesterday, the committee chair David Kitavi stated that the officials are known and they should face disciplinary action immediately.

“The governor suspended Mrs Rose Muema but left the County Executive Tom Odongo, why should he fire junior officers and leave the Mr Odongo where the buck stops?” Mr Kitavi posed.

The committee also urged the governor to implement an education report that had shown that over 10 schools out of the 205 in Nairobi had parts of their land grabbed.

He slighted the executive over lack of goodwill stating that the report had been lying with the governor since July last year yet no action was being pursued.

The officials will also be summoned on January 29, by the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) to answer why they had told the committee they had no information about the ownership of the land then went behind their backs and approved the hiving off.

“When they appeared before us they claimed they did not know about the Langata case and another at Machakos Country Bus along Landhies road, how come they are again able to assure the developer that the ownership of the school playground is not contested,” he said.

Additional Reporting by Eunice Kilonzo