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Taj Mall owner ordered to surrender tittle deed ahead of demolition

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Airgate Centre, formerly Taj Mall, in Nairobi. FILE PHOTO | NMG

The National Land Commission (NLC) has asked Rameshchandra Gorasia to surrender the title deed for the parcel of land where his troubled AirGate Mall (formerly Taj Mall) sits for regularisation.

The move will see Mr Gorasia retain ownership of part of the plot which is private, while the parcel that is on a road reserve will be surrendered to the State.

NLC said the mall was built on an amalgamated title for land which was initially two separate plots — LR No. 7075/13/1 which is a reserve for Outer-Ring Road and LR 7075/24 which is private property.

The position taken by the NLC indicates that Mr Gorasia may have acquired two plots — one privately-owned and another publicly-held — and merged them into one where he built the multibillion-shilling mall.

“The (amalagamated) title 209/13938 should be surrendered to the commission for regularisation and excision of 7075/13/1 which is vested in the national government for road expansion,” the body said in a statement.

The government acquired the land in question (LR 7075/13/1) in 1960 for construction of Outer Ring Road and was gazetted as such on April 30, 1971, NLC said.

The commission revoked the title for the land via a gazette notice on January 22, 2016, following a complaint lodged by Kenya Urban Roads Authority (Kura) on June 14, 2013. Kura was the agency overseeing the expansion of the Outer Ring Road which was later re-designed, leaving the mall intact.

“It is, therefore, the commission’s position that the property was compulsorily acquired for road expansion and it is thus a public utility and that any title held is revoked,” NLC said.

The move shifts the spotlight to government officials who approved the merging of the two titles into one. Owners of the six-floor building, located near the intersection of Outer Ring Road and North Airport Road, were served with a 14-day notice, which elapsed last Thursday, to bring down the property.

The value of the development, which was officially opened by the then vice president Kalonzo Musyoka in August 2011, was estimated in the upwards of Sh5 billion before trouble kicked in.