The Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) has vowed to go after individuals implicated in the payout of Sh 1.5billion in the Ruaraka Land scandal after the Court of Appeal said the money was paid illegally.
EACC said the judgement affirms the findings of the investigations conducted by the commission into the allegations of irregular compensation relating to the portion of the land measuring 13.5 acres on which two public schools stand.
Investigations established that the land had been surrendered to the Government free of cost as a mandatory condition for the approval of the subdivision of LR No. 7879/4. As a result the land ceased to be a private property and formed part of the public utilities reserved under the approved subdivision scheme.
The commission also secured the original title deed to the property during the investigation and registered a caveat over the land to safeguard public interest following the payment of Sh 1.5 billion compensation.
The investigations were undertaken in collaboration with key Government institutions, including Ministry of Lands, the Ministry of Education and the City County of Nairobi among other agencies, whose documentary evidence and technical input were instrumental in establishing the true status of the land.
While dismissing the appeal, the Court of Appeal held that there was no legal basis for the National Land Commission to undertake compulsory acquisition of land already owned by the Government, declaring the purported acquisition and the subsequent payment of Sh 1.5billion to the landowners illegal, null and void. acquisition and subsequent
The Commission said it will now pursue the recovery of the Sh 1.5billion unlawfully paid to Afrison Export Import Ltd and Huelands Limited through Whispering Palms Estate Ltd under the fraudulent compensation scheme.
EACC added that investigations to establish criminal culpability of public officials and other individuals involved in the processing and facilitation of the irregular compensation are complete and action was only delayed by the subsisting Court of Appeal case.
The file will now be resubmitted to the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) and those found culpable will be prosecuted.
This latest bombshell immediately saw focus turn to the then Cabinet Secretary for Education Dr Fred Matiang’i who is currently an opposition leader and the presidential candidate for the Jubilee Party where he is the deputy party leader.
His political detractors were in a celebratory mood but the failure to mention him and instead heap blame on the National Land Commission and the Treasury dampened their spirits.
