The Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission has sought orders to recover government land in Kabarnet illegally allocated to a former employee of former President Daniel Arap Moi.

The commission said the land, which includes an executive residential house, is valued at approximately Sh10 million.

The matter is set to be mentioned on Thursday, before Kabarnet Chief Magistrate Judith Wanjala. 

EACC has also sued the former lands commissioner for facilitating the fraudulent acquisition of the property. 

The commissioner is also facing allegations of abuse of office, purporting to exercise power that he did not possess, purporting to allocate land that was not available for alienation, and failing to have regard for the public interest.

EACC sought orders including a declaration that the allocation and transfer of the land described as Kabarnet Municipality/161 to the 1st defendant was illegal, null and void from the start, and incapable of conferring ownership rights and/or any other proprietary rights in the said public land.

It further prayed that a direction be given to the Land Registrar to rectify the Register by cancelling all the entries relating to the issuance of lease in favour of the former employee. 

Further, EACC wants the court to issue a permanent injunction to restrain the 1st defendant, her agents, servants, employees, assigns or any other person whatsoever from charging, transferring, leasing, wasting, entering, developing, sub-dividing, occupying and/or dealing in any manner dealing with the said land, except by way of surrender to the state.

The anti-graft body moved to court following investigations undertaken in 2020.

This was after it received allegations that land set aside for the establishment of residential houses for civil servants had been illegally alienated and allocated to private citizens.

According to the suit papers filed in court, EACC investigations established that the allegations were true.

It also found that the land had been planned, reserved and used for government housing.

The investigations established that there was a government house comprising a main house and boys’ quarters constructed in September 1953.

They also indicated that on August 2, 2002, the suit property measuring 3, 518 hectares was illegally and/or irregularly alienated to the 1st defendant despite the fact that the suit property was set aside for use as a public utility.

"Subsequently, the Commission filed a recovery suit after the defendant failed to voluntarily surrender the land back to the government as demanded by the Commission," EACC said.

The Commission said investigations in relation to other government houses grabbed by private citizens in collusion with government officials in the area are underway.