Jubilee bigwigs, city tycoon lock horns over prime land

Former NSSF managing trustee Jos Konzolo whose firm says it bought the land in 1983. FILE PHOTO |

What you need to know:

  • The matter, which will be heard at the High Court on Monday, has sucked in the who-is-who in the Jubilee Government.
  • The dispute involves businessman Da Gama Rose and former National Social Security Fund managing trustee Jos Konzolo

Senior government officials embroiled in a dispute involving a Sh8 billion piece of land in Karen have moved in despite a court order stopping any development.

The matter, which will be heard at the High Court on Monday, has sucked in the who-is-who in the Jubilee Government.

On Friday, 14 earth-movers were on the 134 acres building access roads.

The dispute involves businessman Da Gama Rose and former National Social Security Fund managing trustee Jos Konzolo, who both claim to own the land.

Da Gama Rose’s lawyer Cecil Miller has alleged that the personal assistant of Lands Cabinet Secretary Charity Ngilu is at the centre of the dispute.

According to court documents, the land along Lang’ata Road, after Galleria Mall and opposite Hillcrest School, was registered by a company owned by Da Gama Rose, Muchanga Investment Ltd.

The firm was once partly owned by former Vice-President Moody Awori, who has since relinquished his shares.

INVASION

On Friday, the Nation established that earth-movers were on site despite the court order and a protest letter from Muchanga Investments Ltd.

In a letter dated October 9 and addressed to Mrs Ngilu, Mr Miller stated that the invasion was allegedly supervised by one Mary Ndunga, whom he claims is a personal assistant to Mrs Ngilu.

“On October 4, persons unknown to our client who were accompanied by officers from the regular and Administration police and officials from your ministry, who included your personal assistant, turned up at the client’s property claiming ownership of the same,” said Mr Miller.

“The illegal invasion of our client’s property together with the sub-divisions of the same and all other activities carried out are in flagrant disregard of a court order issued by the High Court on September 3,” reads the letter.

Muchanga Investments had hired AP officers to guard the land. However, when the earth-movers appeared, they attempted to enforce the court order in vain. The APs were later withdrawn.

Mr Miller further says Lands officials are involved in the illegal allocation of the land.

“Our instructions are that your officials have fraudulently changed records within the ministry to reflect that the owner of the land is another entity. They have created fake deed plans and issued fake title deeds over our client’s property. Further, the original files pertaining to our client’s property are missing from the registry,” says Mr Miller.

According to court documents, the land has been subdivided by Telesource, a company associated with Mr Konzolo, and sold.

The National Land Commission in a May 10, 2013, letter said the land belongs to Da Gama Rose but Telesource says it bought the land from Jina Enterprises Ltd 20 years ago at Sh135 million.

Muchanga has also listed, Habenga Holdings, Jina Enterprises, Director of Surveys, Ministry of Lands, Director of Physical Planning, Registrar of Titles and Chief Land Registrar, in the dispute.

The court barred the parties from interfering with the land until the matter is determined. The temporary orders were extended to Monday.

According to an affidavit signed by Mr Da Gama Rose, he bought the land in 1982 from Arnold Bradley through Barclays Bank of Kenya at Sh1.2 million. The documents show that when he bought the land, its registration was number 3586/3.

“The instruments of transfer dated December 29, 1982 clearly indicates that the initial grant over the said land was a grant registered as number 94/1 which was in respect of land reference 3586/3,” says the documents.

Mr Konzolo’s firm says it bought the land from Jina Enterprises.

INVALID APPROVALS

Jina Enterprises allegedly bought the land from Habenga Holdings, who are the first defendants.

Despite being registered on March 17, 1994, Telesource Com was incorporated on September 14, 2005, with Konzolo and his spouse as directors.

According to Da Gama Rose, the defendants are now using the invalid and illegal certificate of title together with other illegal and invalid approvals to subdivide the land and to register such subdivisions and Deed Plans with the intention of selling and disposing of the same.

“Habenga, Jina and Telesource have illegally and fraudulently acquired an illegal and invalid certificates of Title over Muchanga Ltd’s property known as Land Reference Number 3586/3 situated in Karen,” states Da Gama Rose in an affidavit.

The documents show that the transfer of the land from Habenga Holdings to Jina Enterprises was registered on April 26, 1983.