Three paragraphs of trouble in CS's letter to lands agency
What you need to know:
A letter Matiang'i letter he wrote informing the National Land Commission (NLC) to acquire a piece of land for two Nairobi schools has returned to haunt him.
It has stirred sharp differences among various agencies that are now split over his role in the controversial Sh1.5 billion Ruaraka land compensation saga.
The cash was to be paid to Afrison Export Import Ltd who are claiming ownership of the land on which Ruaraka High School and Drive Inn Primary School stand.
Interior Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang’i has a track record of excellence, winning accolades at the Education ministry for landmark reforms such as curbing cheating in national examinations.
But a three-paragraph letter he wrote informing the National Land Commission (NLC) to acquire a piece of land for two Nairobi schools has returned to haunt him — and stirred sharp differences among various agencies that are now split over his role in the controversial Sh1.5 billion Ruaraka land compensation saga.
The cash was to be paid to Afrison Export Import Ltd who are claiming ownership of the land on which Ruaraka High School and Drive Inn Primary School stand.
ACQUIRE DEEDS
In the March 17, 2017 letter to now-suspended NLC boss, Prof Muhammad Swazuri, Dr Matiang’i — referring to the Lands Act — said the Education ministry had determined that it was necessary to acquire the piece of land on which the two schools are situated.
“The procedure for the acquisition is well within your purview and I will urge that you address yourself to this matter as soon as is practicable to enable the two government institutions acquire title deeds to the land they currently occupy,” the letter said.
THREATEN CAREER
With the letter, Dr Matiang’i left the choice of whether to pursue the matter of the land or not to the NLC, which had requested him to reply to an earlier letter sent to Basic Education Principal Secretary Belio Kipsang.
In the NLC letter of February 16, 2017, Prof Swazuri had asked Dr Kipsang to make Dr Matiang’i aware that, as CS, he needed to submit a request to the NLC to acquire the land on behalf of the ministry.
It means that had NLC not solicited the letter, Dr Matiang’i could easily have escaped the murk and mire that has become the Ruaraka land saga that now threatens the careers of at least two cabinet secretaries, three principal secretaries and more than 25 other civil servants.
LEGAL PROCESS
Appearing before the Senate committee that investigated the scandal, Dr Kipsang said the NLC had written to the ministry informing it that the land which the two schools occupied was private land and that the owner had requested compensation.
According to an EACC report seen by Sunday Nation, Prof Swazuri wrote to Dr Matiang’i on April 24, 2017 asking that Sh3.2 billion be set aside for the land compensation.
“The commission is duly undertaking the legal process and the ministry is expected to deposit the funds in the commission details (bank accounts),” said a letter dated April 24, 2017.
