Private developer withdraws claim to Lang’ata school land

The private developer accused of illegally acquiring Lang’ata Road Primary School playground has withdrawn a suit he filed against the Nairobi county government seeking to be confirmed as the valid owner of the plot.

Airport View Housing said it had settled the matter out of court and wanted it struck from the records.

“We filed a notice of withdrawal of the entire suit on Wednesday and have issued it to all parties. Kindly mark the matter as settled as a party has the right to withdraw a case without the consent of the court,” the firm told Justice Mary Gitumbi on Thursday.

The withdrawal of the suit paves the way for Lang’ata Road Primary School to take full possession of the land that was the subject of controversy last month when police lobbed tear gas canisters at pupils and parents who were protesting alleged grabbing of the grounds.

Justice Gitumbi granted Airport View Housing’s request despite opposition from another developer, Vinemag Enterprises, which had joined the suit as an interested party.

Vinemag had been allowed to join the case on grounds that it had an existing agreement with Airport View Housing to purchase the land.

The firm had argued in its application that it agreed to pay Airport View Housing Sh140 million for the 1.4-acre land and that the withdrawal of the suit was mischievous and in bad faith.

No reasons were given in court to back Vinemag’s opposition to withdrawal of the suit, keeping secret its simmering dispute with Airport View Housing.

READ: Second developer lays claim to Lang'ata Road property

The county government had last November granted Vinemag approval to construct a multi-storey shopping mall on the piece of land it had ostensibly bought from Airport View Housing.

Both City Hall and the National Land Commission (NLC) on Thursday denied striking any secret deal to settle the dispute with the developer out of court.

Land secretary Charity Ngilu last month named Nairobi contractor Harbans Singh as Airport View’s largest shareholder with 3,000 shares. He is best known as a politically connected Kanu-era contractor with close links to a former president and a former vice-president.

Other directors are Mandip Singh Amrit and Kamal Prakash Amrit who own 1,000 shares each, as well as Manjit Singh Amrit who does not own any shares in the firm.

The shareholders published a press statement last month in which they denied illegally taking possession of the school land, insisting instead that they validly acquired it.

NLC chairman Muhammad Swazuri said no one had approached his agency for a negotiated settlement to the dispute but confirmed that the anti-corruption agency has been investigating how Airport View took possession of the land and got the title.

“Nobody has come to us other than the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission and City Hall, seeking details of the land. We have handed over the documents to them,” he said, adding that the commission had done its duty in declaring Lang’ata Road Primary as the owner of the land.

Withdrawal of the suit also sets the stage for a possible legal battle between the two companies as Vinemag has demonstrated in court its determination to buy the land from Airport View.

The 1.4-acre piece of land has been the subject of wrangles between the county government-owned Lang’ata Road Primary School and Airport View.

Documents filed in court show that Nairobi Land executive S. G. Mwangi gave Vinemag the greenlight to construct the multi-storey mall and a basement parking. Mr Mwangi re-assured the firm in his letter that the school is not part of the land.

Vinemag had supported Airport View in denying the land grab claims as one of its directors, Mr Byron Okello, told the court that his firm confirmed the ownership of the land while negotiating for its purchase.