Uhuru faults Ngilu and Swazuri on Lang’ata school row
A police officer lobs a tear gas canister at protesting pupils of Lang'ata Road Primary School during a protest over the seizure of a playground on January 20, 2015. AFP PHOTO | TONY KARUMBA
A city trader linked to the controversial Lang’ata Road Primary School playground has denied ownership of the 1.4 acre piece of land as President Uhuru Kenyatta faulted the Land ministry and the National Land Commission for failing to resolve the property dispute.
Mayank Singh on Tuesday said he has no links with Airport View Housing Ltd, which claims in court documents that it bought the land in 1989.
The court proceedings came as President Kenyatta said the Land ministry and NLC would be held to account for the row that led police to fire tear gas into a crowd of pupils and adults protesting against the confiscation of the playground.
Mr Singh has been named as the contractor who built the 313m perimeter wall that was on Monday partly demolished, and reports say he has an interest in Airport View Housing Ltd.
“Those details (ownership of Airport View) you will have to find out for yourself. I did what I was supposed to do, and the rest is for you to find out,” Mr Singh said Tuesday on phone.
Court documents show that Airport View received approval to build the wall from City Hall on December 11 and the consent was addressed to Mr Singh.
Airport View moved to court last week seeking to stop Lang’ata Road Primary School from encroaching on the land.
Its property manager, Mr Bedan Mwangi said in court papers that the school was not listed as one of the institutions affected by land grabbing in a City Hall taskforce report published in July last year.
Justice Mary Gitumbi on Tuesday declined to issue orders stopping the school from occupying the land.
Five children were on Monday injured during demonstrations to save the school from the alleged land grabber, sparking an outcry from the public against the use of excessive force by police, especially on pupils.
Mr Kenyatta said the act was deplorable, adding that police should not have been involved.
He also questioned the role of the headteacher, saying schoolchildren should not have been allowed to participate in the protests.
Lang’ata OCPD Elijah Mwangi, who was in charge of the operation, was suspended following the incident. On Monday, Ms Ngilu and Dr Swazuri said the land belongs to the school and would be returned to it.
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