Nyeri Governor Nderitu Gachagua. Nyeri Governor Nderitu Gachagua is set
to pocket nearly Sh1 billion as compensation for his land that the
government is acquiring for the construction of Nairobi’s Southern
Bypass. PHOTO | JOSEPH KANYI | NATION MEDIA GROUP
By KIARIE NJOROGE, gkiarie@ke.nationmedia.com
In Summary
- Mr Gachagua got the big relief after the court dismissed the government’s claim that the property marked for demolition had been built on the Southern Bypass reserve land.
- The Business Daily was unable to reach Mr Gachagua to establish if their valuation of the property has since changed and how much he expected to be paid for it. The NLC said that it was yet to establish the property’s worth.
Nyeri Governor Nderitu Gachagua is set to pocket
nearly Sh1 billion as compensation for his land that the government is
acquiring for the construction of Nairobi’s Southern Bypass.
The National Land Commission (NLC) on Friday made public
through a Kenya Gazette notice its plan to acquire the 1.2-acre plot on
which Mr Gachagua has built 80 apartments — making it one of the highest
payments the government is set to make to acquire land for road
construction.
The notice came a few months after the Environment
and Land Court directed the government to compensate Mr Gachagua for the
intended demolition of his property.
Mr Gachagua got the big relief after the court
dismissed the government’s claim that the property marked for demolition
had been built on the Southern Bypass reserve land.
Justice Mary Gitumbi had in February 2015 ruled
that Mr Gachagua be compensated at the rate that is determined by the
NLC should the forced takeover and demolition of the property take
place.
“The petitioner is entitled to just compensation as
may be determined by the National Land Commission for the suit property
and the development that has been erected thereon should the
respondents proceed with the entry into the suit property and demolition
of the development thereon,” the judge ruled.
The impending mega compensation is the latest
signal of the heavy price the State is paying for the chaos at the lands
registry that has left it with no option but to spend billions of
shilling to acquire the land it needs to develop public infrastructure.
The property located in Nairobi’s South C estate is
registered under Vipingo Beach Resort Limited, a company in which Mr
Gachagua has 89.94 per cent interest, according to information at the
Registrar of Companies.
Valuation of the property
Susan Nderitu owns a 10 per cent stake in the
company, the governor’s brother Rigathi Gachagua has a 0.01 per cent
interest while a Mr Kenneth Gachagua owns 0.05 per cent. Vipingo Beach
Resort had in suit papers filed in 2012 indicated that the property had a
conservative value of Sh800 million.
The Business Daily was unable to reach Mr
Gachagua to establish if their valuation of the property has since
changed and how much he expected to be paid for it. The NLC said that it
was yet to establish the property’s worth.
“A team is on the ground doing the valuation. We
have to do the valuation and tell the government how much the
acquisition will cost,” Abigail Mbagaya Mukolwe, the NLC
vice-chairperson, said.
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