“According to the inspection and verification done by a valuer engaged by the company in 2019 to undertake valuation of the company assets, only five acres valued at Sh75 million were occupied by the company, with the rest of the parcel measuring 42.10 acres valued at Sh625 million being occupied by the encroachers,” she said.
“As a result, the ownership of the parcel, which has been illegally encroached is threatened.”
KPC joins the growing list of State corporations whose prime properties have either been grabbed or encroached on for lack of title deeds.
Parliament in June directed parastatal CEOs without title deeds to their properties to put caveats on all the parcels of land in private hands.
Several key State corporations including the Kenya Airports Authority, Kenya Ports Authority, Kenya National Highways Authority, Kenya Railways Corporation, Kenya National Bureau of Statistics and the Kenya Revenue Authority have been flagged as parastatals without ownership documents.
Such parcels have either been grabbed or encroached upon.
Others without title documents are the Parliament, Kenyatta International Convention Centre, Kenya Wildlife Service, National Cereals and Produce Board, Kenya School of Law and the Bomas of Kenya.
The National Assembly’s Public Investments Committee said most corporations have no titles to vast parcels of land.
The KWS, which has 222 pieces across the country was found to hold documents for 45 parcels only.
In a separate report released in December, Ms Gathungu raised the red flag over a piece of land KPC donated to settle street families 13 years ago which has been grabbled.
The company donated a parcel of land L.R No.209/11325 on August 23, 2007, and surrendered the title deed to the Commissioner of Lands for purposes of transferring and registering the property in the name of Street Families Rehabilitation Trust Fund.
The KPC handed over the land in Nairobi’s Mukuru kwa Njenga Slums to settle street families.
“However, a review of the matter during the month of January 2021, thirteen years after the donation, revealed that the transfer has not been effected and the land in Mukuru kwa Njenga slum has since been encroached upon by members of the public,” Ms Gathungu said.
A Bill seeking to compel the Registrar of Lands to issue titles for parcels donated for public use is currently before Parliament.
The Lands (Amendment) Bill, 2022 also seeks to provide for the registration of such land.
Currently, the law is silent on their registration, exposing such assets to grabbing.
If passed, the registrar will be compelled to issue a title in the name of the entity in the case of the incorporated public entity.
