Mombasa Cement in court fight to keep 1,200 acre controversial land

Mombasa Cement Limited has asked the High Court to quash a parliamentary report that ordered the National Land Commission to repossess a 1,200 acre piece of land in Kilifi that the firm claims it owns.

The cement manufacturer says the report contradicts investigations by the National Land Commission (NLC) which cleared it of any wrongdoing in the acquisition of the land.

The National Assembly’s Departmental Committee on Land in November last year adopted the report following its own investigations into how the firm acquired the land.

The company now says the National Assembly has no authority to overrule the NLC on any land matter, hence its adoption of a report contradicting the NLC’s findings was illegal.

“Mombasa Cement has become aware that on or about November 19, the Departmental Committee of the National Assembly purported to adopt a report on ownership of the petitioner’s land in Kilifi,” Mombasa Cement director Hasmukh Patel says.

“The National Assembly committee has effectively arrogated itself the powers of the NLC to review grants and dispositions of public land.

‘‘No other body other than the NLC can purport to exercise such power of review of grants and dispositions of public land. Once the NLC has exercised its powers, then it is only this honourable court that has the power to review the decision,” Mr Patel adds.

But the National Assembly says it has power to intervene in any matter that is of concern to the public. The House adds that the Constitution empowers it to determine what is of great concern.

“It is for the National Assembly to determine what constitutes an issue of concern to the people. That gives this House the authority to inquire into virtually any matter it considers necessary.

‘‘The committee had the authority to conduct investigations on issues of ownership of Mombasa Cement’s land in Kilifi, being a question of ownership of public land allocated to squatters,” the National Assembly says.

Mombasa Cement holds that it acquired the land from Vipingo Estates Limited between 2004 and 2005 for Sh67.1 million.

The firm last year filed the suit to stop the House team from investigating its acquisition of the land, but failed to obtain a restraining order.

The NLC in April sought to join the suit and back Mombasa Cement, arguing that allowing the National Assembly to look into a matter it had already concluded would be interference with the NLC’s constitutional mandate.

The row has set the stage for a new turf war between the NLC and Parliament. NLC chairman Muhammad Swazuri was last year involved in a vicious battle for investigative powers over land with former Land minister Charity Ngilu.