The new compensation suit, if successful, could see Nancy Wanja Gatabaki and her husband, Samuel Gatabaki, pocket more than Sh2.3 billion from just a portion of their land whose value skyrocketed with the construction of the road bypass by former President Mwai Kibaki’s government.
The Gatabakis are a politically prominent Kiambu family related to former Member of Parliament Njehu Gatabaki.
Ms Gatabaki in an affidavit says the land she co-owns with her husband, Samuel, was acquired nearly 10 years ago but no compensation has been paid out since.
She says she is apprehensive that part of the compensation for the land has been paid to other entities fraudulently.
A prominent Kiambu couple that pocketed Sh725 million in compensation from a real estate developer in 2011 are back in court seeking Sh1.6 billion from the government for their land acquired during construction of the Northern Bypass.
The new compensation suit, if successful, could see Nancy Wanja Gatabaki and her husband, Samuel Gatabaki, pocket more than Sh2.3 billion from just a portion of their land whose value skyrocketed with the construction of the road bypass by former President Mwai Kibaki’s government.
The Gatabakis are a politically prominent Kiambu family related to former Member of Parliament Njehu Gatabaki. Ms Gatabaki in an affidavit says the land she co-owns with her husband, Samuel, was acquired nearly 10 years ago but no compensation has been paid out since.
She says she is apprehensive that part of the compensation for the land has been paid to other entities fraudulently.
The fresh suit ignites memories of an earlier case when Ms Gatabaki pocketed Sh725 million to settle out of court a dispute that had stalled construction of the Sh30 billion Fourways Junction estate.
"The petitioners pray for the compensation for the 14.88 acres at current market value estimated at Kenya shillings one billion six twenty six million two hundred and fifty thousand (Sh1,626,250,000)," says one of the orders sought in the papers filed at the Milimani Law Courts.
They are further seeking general damages and interest that has accrued on the compensation. The court papers list Dr Gatabaki as the second petitioner, who has given Josephine Beatrice Gathoni Gatabaki the power of attorney to represent him in court.
The Cabinet Secretaries for Land and Transport and Infrastructure, the National Land Commission, the Kenya Urban Roads Authority and the Attorney-General are listed as defendants. Justice Wilfrida Okwany directed the case to be mentioned on July 18 for further direction. Respondents are yet to file their defence.
The Gatabakis claim that the acquired portions were hived off their land situated in Kiambu during construction of the Northern Bypass.
They claim that the 14-acre portion was carved from their land LR NO 5980 and LR No. 4508/1 on Kiambu Road.
The couple say that they were never given any formal notice of compulsory acquisition but learnt of the impending acquisition when sometime in 2008 an engineer from the Ministry of Transport accompanied by a Chinese contractor visited their home.
The engineer and the contractor allegedly informed the couple that the bypass would cut across their land and that it would also interfere with a dam they had constructed on the land to water their coffee farm. During the said visit to their home the contractor allegedly informed them that they would be compensated.
The Gatabakis say they ended up losing their land after construction but no compensation was received, adding that they patiently waited believing that the government compensation on acquired lands takes time.
They also allege that no gazette notice was ever published in regard to the acquisition of their land, breaching their constitutional right to own property individually or in association with others.
The couple further says that they were shocked to learn that the map used by the government indicates a separate land LR No 4808 said to have been subdivided from their parcel. The Gatabakis deny having consented to any subdivision.
The petitioners claim that they learnt that Sh17.5 million compensation for this portion was paid to the Commissioner of Lands by KURA on grounds that it lacked a claimant.
This is fraudulent since a search for LR 4808 at survey of Kenya indicates it is situated in Nakuru and yet their land is in Kiambu, the couple have argued.
If successful, this will be the second time that the wheel of justice will turn in favour of the Gatabakis. In 2011, Mrs Gatabaki was compensated Sh725 million for a parcel of land they surrendered to real estate developers.
As part of the settlement Peter and Sue Muraya who are the directors of Suraya Properties — the company that originally partnered with the Gatabakis in the real estate project — agreed to pay Mrs Gatabaki Sh402 million.
She was also to receive the remaining Sh323 million in form of residential apartments and land on the project site.
