Ex-Moi aide’s firm seeks compensation for prime city land

A company associated with former President Daniel Moi’s aide Joshua Kulei is seeking to stop the Kenya Urban Roads Authority (Kura) from acquiring a prime piece of land it owns in Westlands.

Belgo Holdings has sued Kura to stop its intended acquisition of a 44-acre piece of land along Peponi Road in Nairobi, arguing that the government has not compensated it for the prime property.

Belgo Holdings is associated with Mr Kulei, Mr Moi’s former private secretary and one of his most trusted allies.

The firm says it bought the land in 1995 from Lakeview Development Ltd – another company linked to Mr Moi and former Cabinet minister Nicholas Biwott – and that it has never received payment from the government as compensation for compulsory acquisition as required by the law.

Belgo has asked the court to stop Kura from encroaching on the land, and to compensate it for damages caused by the partial construction of a link road. The firm says funds were allocated to Kura for the link road in the current budget despite the ongoing suit.

“In the recent National Budget read in June 2015, funds were allocated for the road which is supposed to pass through Belgo’s property to be built. Members of the public insist on using the murram road on the said reserve and are removing barriers and obstructions placed thereon by the plaintiff,” the firm says in court papers.

The roads agency intends to construct a link road from Waiyaki Way that will connect Westlands to Redhill in Kiambu. Part of the road cuts through Belgo’s land.

Belgo in its court papers says it bought the land from Lakeview Development, which had in 1981 acquired the property from its original owners, Jays Syndicate Limited.

Kura, however, insists that the government acquired the land in 1975 from Jays Syndicate, and that the firm was paid one year later. The roads authority does not say how much Jays was paid for the land. Land along Peponi Road goes for at least Sh150 million per acre.

The authority says plans for the link road were made in 1975 and that all developments along the proposed road site were cleared in 2008.

“Available records show that the government acquired road for a link road from Waiyaki Way to Redhill Road vide gazette notices 942 and 943 of March 21, 1975. Government’s compulsory acquisition and payment for a road corridor on the same property was done in 1975 and 1976 respectively to Jays Syndicate,” Kura says in its response.