MOMBASA — A parcel of public land worth Ksh104 million was illegally acquired from Kenya Airport Authority has officially been returned to the government following a court ruling issued on July 23. Justice Stephen Kibunja of the Environment and Land Court in Mombasa declared the parcel MN/VI/3748, measuring 1.73 acres as public land and ruled that it was never legally available for private ownership. The property had originally been allocated to Agil Mahmud, a former Provincial Physical Planner for the Coast Province, without proper approval or legal procedure.
The court also nullified the current title held by Academy Properties Limited, concluding that all subsequent transfers following the illegal allocation were invalid. “The initial allotment was irregular and unlawful, making all subsequent dealings null and void,” ruled Justice Kibunja.
Investigations by the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) revealed that MN/VI/3748 was hived off from a much larger 538.76-acre parcel, L.R. MN/VI/3888, which had been reserved for the Port Reitz Airport now Moi International Airport under the Kenya Airports Authority (KAA) since 1961.
EACC, then operating as the Kenya Anti-Corruption Commission (KACC), discovered that the parcel had been subdivided without a valid Physical Development Plan (PDP). The allocation to Mahmud was reportedly based on a sketch plan, not a formally sanctioned map. Investigators confirmed that no application, payment, or formal approval accompanied the allocation process.
The Commission filed suit in 2009 seeking the return of the land to the public. Alongside Mahmud, former Commissioner of Lands Wilson Gachanja was also named in the case for authorizing the fraudulent allocation and title issuance.
In a statement following the ruling, EACC confirmed the land has officially reverted to Kenya Airports Authority. The Commission also disclosed it is actively pursuing 12 other parcels of land similarly grabbed from Moi International Airport. The total value of those properties is estimated at over Ksh2.5 billion, with recovery cases pending in court. The Mombasa case adds to a growing list of successful recoveries by EACC in its ongoing campaign to reclaim illegally acquired public land and expose fraud in government agencies.
No criminal charges have yet been announced, but sources familiar with the matter say investigations into possible criminal liability related to the allocations are ongoing.
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