A housing co-operative society has filed an appeal, challenging the acquisition of a Sh15 billion 60-acre parcel of land where the government is constructing a modern sports complex known as Talanta Hela Stadium.
The Postel Housing Co-operative Society argues that the land was acquired without the due process of law in compulsory acquisition.
In the appeal, the society has faulted the decision of the Environment and Land Court, issued in July last year, stating that it had no legitimate right to claim 60 acres of the land on Ngong Road.
“The judge erred in law and fact by failing to consider that the impugned legislative supplement number 11 of 2001 dated the February 23, 2001, which revoked the appellants interest to and in respect of the 60 acres portion of land, was irregular and unlawful and the legal notice number 154 of 1999 had vested 60 acres of the suit property in favour of the appellant,” the society said in the appeal.
Justice Oguttu Mboya ruled in favour of Telkom Kenya in a decision last year.
The society through its chairman Henry Belsoi maintained that they are the rightful owner of the 60 acres of the controversial land after acquiring it from Telkom’s predecessor Kenya Posts & Telecommunications Corporation. He reckoned that the land was sold when a dispute between the cooperative society and Telkom was pending in court, defeating their case.
Then, a Nairobi court allowed the former employees to bring charges against Telkom directors, some of whom have already left the company, after accusing the Director of Public Prosecutions of failing to take up the matter despite being notified of the alleged fraud.
The society says there are more than 300 employees formerly employed by the defunct KPTC and that they paid money to acquire 60 of the 79-acre land in the 1990s.
The amounts, they claimed were deducted through check-off from the pay slip after agreeing to purchase the land for Sh350,000 per acre a total of Sh21 million.
Mr Belsoi said Postel members contributed well over Sh21 million before the contributions were halted around 2009.
The group alleges that Telkom sold the land to AFTRACO at a throwaway price for Sh1.5 billion, in a deal they said was fraudulent and later nullified by a three-judge bench.
“There is no doubt that the said action of purporting to sell the said parcel of land to a third party amounts to outright commission of fraud on their part by Telkom Kenya Board,” Mr Belsoi said in an affidavit.
He said Telkom could only sell 19 acres and the move to sell the entire land was fraudulent.
