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Kenya Railways claims ownership of Sh450m prime Upper Hill land

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One of Kenya Railways pension scheme properties in Land Mawe, Nairobi. PHOTO | FILE

The Kenya Railways pension scheme has accused the family of former Head of Civil Service Joseph Leting of excluding it from a lawsuit over a Sh450 million piece of land in Upper Hill, Nairobi, as a ploy to get a favourable court ruling.

The Kenya Railways Staff Retirement Benefits Scheme (KRSRBS) has asked Justice George Odunga to discard a judgment he issued in favour of Mr Leting’s family in November and to hear the suit afresh with the pension scheme as a party in the case.

Mr Justice Odunga in November barred the National Land Commission from investigating how Mr Leting acquired the disputed land in 1988. Mr Leting’s family had sued the NLC for opening investigations into the land’s ownership.

The NLC’s investigation was initiated following a protest from the retirement scheme, which claims it owns the prime land and now says it should have been enjoined in the suit having been the complainant.

READ: National Land Commission loses bid to repossess land from ex-PS Leting

The pension scheme says the land was granted to Kenya Railways in 1932, and that it only came to learn recently that the prime property had been mysteriously subdivided and given to private developers, among them Mr Leting. Mr Leting developed 19 apartments on the disputed 0.8 acre piece of land in 1991.

“It is in the process of tracing the said vested property that it came the KRSRBS’ attention that the subject property, a portion of the mother title, had been subdivided into smaller portions and vested unto private developers. One such subdivision was that parcel of land occupied by the estate of Mr Leting.”

The pension scheme insists that it will be affected by any court orders issued in respect of the land hence must be given audience before a ruling is delivered.

“The estate of Mr Leing failed to notify the KRSBRS of this suit and intentionally excluded it yet it is directly affected by the outcome of the instant suit.

“The KRSRBS prays that the judgment delivered on November 23, 2016 and all consequential orders be set aside and the suit herein be heard afresh,” says scheme’s CEO Simon Nyakundi in court papers.

But Mr Leting’s family insists that the ex-public service head acquired the land legally in 1988, and has attached documents indicating the Sh49,946 payment made to the Commissioner of Land as stamp duty.

The KRSRBS says it was granted a 99-year lease in 1932 for the disputed property.