Moi in court over disputed prime Nairobi land sale

Former president Daniel arap Moi has obtained a court order barring three parties that are laying claim to a prime plot in Nairobi from starting any construction at the site till the dispute is resolved.

Mr Moi, through lawyer Fred Ngatia, says he cannot understand “the basis of the claims” lodged by United States International University (USIU), Maestro Health Connections and Equity Bank CEO James Mwangi through his company Muthaiga Luxury Homes Limited.

The retired president has been named as a defendant in the suit. On Wednesday, Mr Moi’s lawyer told the trial court to “widen the injunction order to stop the plaintiffs from taking advantage of each other so that nothing happens on the ground until the case is heard and determined.”

Justice Samson Okong’o gave the order preserving the suit property in which USIU, Maestro Connections Health Systems and Mr Mwangi have different titles for the same piece of land.

“Justice can only be arrived at through a full trial, we need to go straight into the trial at the earliest date possible,” Mr Ngatia said.

The lawyer said it is prudent that the court halts “any activities on the disputed parcel of land until a determination is made.” Maestro Heath Connections claimed it bought the property from Mr Moi for Sh500 million and had stationed tens of guards at the site before USIU contested and got an order for restoration of the status quo.

Mr Mwangi later emerged stating that he had also bought the property from the former president at Sh300 million after being introduced through proxies.

READ: Equity Bank's Mwangi joins USIU's land battle with Moi

Mr Moi, through his lawyer, has demanded witnesses to the sale agreements and transfers and evidence that they were present during the alleged transactions.

The case will be mentioned on October 26 to confirm compliance. Mr Moi also wants particulars of persons who amalgamated plots LR 12422/18 and 12422/19 which form the epicentre of the dispute. The lawyer further wants proof of approval of the amalgamation of the two parcels of land by the director of survey.

Mr Moi is accused of selling the land to both the university and Maestro Connections Health Systems Limited using reconstituted title deeds.

The suit states that in 1984 Mr Moi surrendered two original certificates and was issued with one title for the consolidated parcel of land known as LR no 12597.

USIU-A notes that the initial land labelled LR 12422/19 ceased to exist after the consolidation.

The documents show that Moi then sold and transferred the disputed property to DPS International Limited. DPS later sold the land to ICEA which in turn sold it to USIU-A.

Mr Moi applied for a duplicate title against an ownership record that should have been destroyed when the plots were consolidated, the court papers say.

He received a new title for the land in September last year and sold the property to Dr George Kiongera’s Maestro Connections Health Systems.