Mombasa County embroiled in land ownership row with Nakumatt

What you need to know:

  • The county government submitted that on receiving a complaint from a government institution, which claimed the land is public property, it was entitled to issue an enforcement notice to the company.
  • According to the county government, the petitioners failed to follow and exhaust the mechanisms or avenues provided for under the law for redress when an enforcement notice is issued.
  • Directors and shareholders of Nakumatt Investment Limited sued the county government over claims that it seeks to repossess its land and build a public facility on it.

Nakumatt Investments Limited has claimed ownership of a Sh2 billion plot on which the Mombasa County Government seeks to build a public facility.

The company told a Mombasa court on Tuesday that its rights over the land had not changed, adding that the plot is private property.

Nakumatt said neither the county government nor the National Land Commission (NLC) had produced proof that the plot is public property.

“The procedure to acquire land from an individual is well set out by the Land Act 2012,” said the lawyers.

The company further submitted that it bought the land from M/S Doshi Ironmongers Ltd, who had a valid title. It further argued that the county government and the NLC have not challenged the fact, yet they are custodians of public land.

“The silence means the matter stated by directors of M/S Doshi Ironmongers Ltd and, by extension, the petitioner are right,” said the lawyers.

The county government submitted that on receiving a complaint from a government institution, which claimed the land is public property, it was entitled to issue an enforcement notice to the company.

Through Mwangi Njenga and Company Advocates, the county government said its decision to cancel the approval of developments on the land was reasonable as it was made for a “legitimate and lawful” reason.

It further argued that the NLC is the right organisation to tackle the issue of whether the land is public property or not.

According to the county government, the petitioners failed to follow and exhaust the mechanisms or avenues provided for under the law for redress when an enforcement notice is issued.

The county government described the petition by Nakumatt Investment Ltd as premature, and said it ought to be dismissed with costs.

It further submitted that the county government had not in any way violated Nakumatt Investments Ltd’s rights to own property.

Directors and shareholders of Nakumatt Investment Limited sued the county government over claims that it seeks to repossess its land and build a public facility on it.

The judgment is expected to be delivered on April 7.