NCIC Commissioner Claims Ownership of Land Hosting New Trans Nzoia Offices, Seeks Compensation
- A legal battle is looming over the ownership of a piece of land hosting the newly unveiled Trans Nzoia county headquarters
- While the county has started relocating its operations to the new office block, a former Member of Parliament has come out to claim ownership of the land
- The former MP claims he acquired the land in 1994 and that he has all the legal documents to justify the same
- However, Governor George Natembeya insisted that the land belongs to the county and was meant for public use
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A legal battle is looming over ownership of a prime property within Kitale Town, where the county government of Trans Nzoia has constructed its newly completed county headquarters.
Source: Facebook
Governor George Natembeya, on Wednesday, July 23, unveiled the new office block and initiated the relocation of all the offices from the Kitale Town Hall.
But even before Natembeya and his team spend a full day at the new offices, a family of a Commissioner at the National Cohesion and Integration Commission (NCIC) has come out to claim ownership of the piece of land.
The NCIC commissioner, Phillip Okundi, through his personal assistant (PA) and property manager, Raphael Ololo, claims he is the legitimate owner of the land hosting the new county headquarters.
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When did Phillip Okundi acquire contested Kitale land?
Ololo told journalists in Kitale on Thursday, July 24, that the NCIC commissioner bought the 1.75-acre land in 1994.
"Engineer Philip Okundi has a valid lease title deed. The lease period is 99 years. If the county government of Trans Nzoia claims ownership of plot 161/162 of Block 6, they should produce any legitimate documents. I know they cannot because they do not have," he said.
The PA further pointed out that the lease title deed for the land had not been revoked and that his boss is willing to negotiate with the county for an amicable solution over the issue.
Okundi is a former Rangwe Member of Parliament (MP).
"My prayer is that the county should desist from the forceful acquisition of a private person's property. If they are ready, we can negotiate at a table," he stated.
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Who owns land hosting Trans Nzoia county headquarters?
However, Governor Natembeya insists the land in question belongs to the Trans Nzoia Agricultural Machinery Services.
Source: Facebook
The governor further said his administration is prepared and ready to ensure the public land is protected from any individual claiming ownership.
"You cannot claim that this land belongs to you and you want to develop it, denying services to more than 1.2 million people of Trans Nzoia. We will deal with all these cases to ensure that public lands are protected," Natembeya said.
The contested land is adjacent to the Kitale National Polytechnic and borders the Wamalwa Kijana Teaching and Referral Hospital. It is valued at around KSh 7.5 million.
Already, the governor has moved into the building and occupied the second floor, with other departments expected to start relocating from the Kitale Town Hall, which has been the county’s headquarters since 2013.
KSh 500 million was used on the new office block, which the governor said will ensure locals get all county services under one roof.
Kisii teacher wins land ownership case against speaker
Previously, TUKO.co.ke reported that a teacher had secured a major win against the Kisii County Assembly Speaker.
The teacher had moved to court to contest the legality of documents used by the speaker to occupy his land.
At the end, the court ruled in his favour as it declared the speaker's title deed null and void.
Proofreading by Jackson Otukho, copy editor at TUKO.co.ke.
Source: TUKO.co.ke
Joshua Cheloti (Editorial assistant) Joshua Cheloti is a multi-skilled journalist with over 5 years of experience in the media industry. He holds a Diploma in Journalism and Mass Communication and is pursuing a Bachelor of Arts in Mass Media and Communication at Mount Kenya University. At TUKO, he's an editorial assistant. Before TUKO, he worked at Nairobi Review as an editorial writer, at Hope Media (Hope TV and Hope FM) as a correspondent in Eldoret, Hivisasa.com digital content editor and online writer, at Biblia Husema Broadcasting (BHB), Eldoret as Radio Presenter. Email: Joshua.cheloti@tuko.co.ke
Emanuel Tarus I am professional multi-media journalist with eight years experience as a field-based correspondent. Integrity, objectivity and adherence to ethical standards are my guiding principles in journalism. I am based in Trans Nzoia county and very passionate about gender, crime, environment and climate change reporting. I am also interested in health, human interest, development, leadership and governance beats. In the future, I would like to specialize in diplomacy and geopolitics reporting to expand my reporting scope.
