Government pays Sh5.7bn to repossess land after protracted legal battle

Permanent secretary in the Ministry of Land, Housing and Settlements Development, Dr Allan Kijazi

By Bertha Ismail

More by this Author

Arusha. The government said at the weekend that it has paid Sh5.7 billion to

Tanzania Plantation Limited to repossess 6,128 acres of land from the investor.  
The money, paid by the ministry of Land, Housing and Human Settlements Development, was paid in fulfilment of a judgment by the Tanzania High Court in case Number 50 of 2015.
In the judgment, the court had ordered the government to compensate the investor for the land to return to the ownership of the state. The investor has also handed over the farm – which is located at Bwawani Ward in Arumeru District - back to the State by signing the title deed.
The land was mired in a 20-year-long conflict with the government accusing the investor of violating conditions of developing the land as stipulated in the 1999 Land Act.
Speaking during the handing over ceremony, Dr Allan Kijazi, the permanent secretary in the ministry, called on residents of the area to cooperate in guarding the property present on the land.
“We’ve hired security guards from Suma JKT, cooperate with them to ensure the land is not invaded and the property remains safe,” he said.
Dr Kijazi said the government was carrying out a good land use plan for the farms for economic development of the residents surrounding them as well as of the nation, including reviving sisal processing plant in place.
The government waived the ownership of the land, prompting the investor to recourse to zonal high court.

“The government asked for the case to be held out of the court and agreed with the plaintiff to pay the amount of the money,” said Dr Kijazi, explaining that immediately after court had issued the judgement, the government started paying the money in installments and that it had timely accomplished the payment.
The land comprises 117 buildings, including 108 residential houses, school, church, dispensary, police station and sisal processing plants which all now belong to the government.
Mr Pradip Lodhia, the investor, who was accompanied with his counsel Alute Mughwai, said he was glad the conflict that denied him sleep had ended, thanking the government for peacefully and faithfully honouring the agreement reached between them.
Bwawani Ward residents commended the government during the ceremony for successfully ending the conflict, pleading with the government to consider involving them in the process of developing the land use plan for the farms, as they had nowhere else to go in case they would be evicted.
“The conflict has slowed down our progress, given the investor had suspended all operations to the expense of our employment,” one of the residents, Mr Kaisi Salum Mbwana, said.
He said since most of the them were employees and labourers, they had to invade the farms to grow maize and beans in a bid to eke out a living. “The government should fast track the process for us to also get some farms for our livelihoods,” he said.