Court allows five to spend Sh100m compensation for Lamu Port land

A judge sitting in Malindi has lifted orders freezing the bank accounts of five people accused of irregularly receiving Sh100 million as compensation for land earmarked for the Sh1.5 trillion Lamu Port project.

In February, Justice Said Chitembwe issued interim 30-day freeze orders on the claimants’ bank accounts to allow investigations by the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC). He directed the anti-graft agency to share its findings with the court.

Upon reading the report, the judge lifted the order after declaring the agency had not provided tangible evidence to show that the claimants were wrongfully compensated.

“I do not find anything tangible in the report filed by the applicant to warrant extension of the freezing orders. I expect the applicant to have unearthed some corrupt practice on the part of the respondents.

“The respondents shall be at liberty to utilise their funds. The concerned banks are free to allow the respondents operate their accounts,” the court ruled.

The EACC had questioned discrepancies in the size of the claimants’ plots in the list prepared by former Lamu county commissioner Stephen Ikua referred to as the Transport ministry’s list and another by the National Land Commission.

The plots were indicated as smaller in the ministry’s list when compared to that of the NLC, and the claimants were blamed for the discrepancies.

However, Justice Chitembwe observed that the respondents “appear to be poor men and women from Lamu who cannot influence the payments.”

He said NLC “did not pick the plot sizes out of nowhere and there must have been a basis for the determination of the plots.”

The claimants include Ms Mariam Athman Hassan, Kalathum Mohamed Ahmed and her husband Mr Mohamed Abdereheman. Others were Fauzi Mohammed Famau and Mohammed Bwanamkuu Ali.

They were among 154 people who were paid Sh860 million as compensation for the land.