By James Okoth
After nearly two decades of legal battles, missing records and high-level intrigue, justice has finally caught up with one of Kenya’s most audacious land grabs. The Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) has triumphantly recovered a 17-acre parcel valued at KSh2.8 billion that was illegally hived off from Karura Forest in 1997 — a victory the Commission describes as “a defining moment” in its long campaign against land plunder.
The landmark ruling, delivered on October 23 by the Nairobi Environment and Land Court, declared that the parcel, originally reserved for Karura Forest and the Kenya Technical Teachers College (KTTC), had been unlawfully allocated to the late former Cabinet Minister Joseph Kamotho before being sold to private investors. The Court’s decision, following 18 years of relentless litigation, has now restored the property to the State.
In a statement on its official X account, the EACC celebrated the outcome as the culmination of years of investigative tenacity and legal perseverance.
“This judgment marks a major victory for the protection of public land. The recovered parcel, reserved partly as forest land and partly as institutional land, now reverts to the public land and remains public property,” the Commission stated, terming the decision a reaffirmation of Kenya’s constitutional right to protect public resources.
The case, first filed in 2007, had stalled multiple times due to complex ownership transfers, powerful interests and deliberate bureaucratic obstruction. EACC investigators traced the illegal allocation back to a flawed directive within the then Ministry of Lands, executed through collusion by two senior land commissioners who will now face prosecution for their roles in the fraudulent process.
“The court also found Mr Wilson Gacanja and Mr James Raymond Njega, both Commissioners of Lands, personally liable for their manifestly illegal and ultra vires action,” EACC added.
The Commission noted that the recovery not only safeguards a vital section of the environmentally fragile Karura Forest but also ensures that the adjacent KTTC retains the land originally set aside for its institutional expansion.
“This is not just about reclaiming land, it’s about restoring integrity to public land management,” EACC emphasised.
The Karura case symbolises more than just a legal triumph; it mirrors Kenya’s slow but steady march towards justice in the face of systemic corruption. It sends a resounding message to land grabbers in the past, present and future that public land is not up for auction and that time does not erase accountability.
Some of the recently concluded cases include:
○ Recovery of a road reserve land worth KSh30 million that had been grabbed in Nyali, Mombasa; reserved for the expansion of a link road adjoining 1st Avenue.
○ Recovery of a prime parcel of land worth KSh35 million belonging to the Ministry of State Department for Housing and Urban Development, located next to Bungoma State Lodge at Milimani area in Bungoma Town.
○ Public auction of six prime properties, recovered from the former Migori Governor Okoth Obado and former Head of Treasury at the City County of Nairobi, Mr Stephen Osiro, realising a total value of KSh75.4 million. Other assets belonging to the two individuals are scheduled to be auctioned in the coming days.
○ Recovery of public land valued at KSh50 million, located within the Kenya Railways Light House Kizingo Estate in Mombasa County belonging to Kenya Railways Corporation.
As the Commission moves to implement the Court’s ruling, it has pledged to intensify surveillance on public land, particularly forest and riparian reserves that have long been targets of speculative greed. The EACC has also urged other state agencies to expedite boundary reviews, digitise land records and strengthen environmental enforcement to prevent future encroachment.
Eighteen years later, the recovered Karura parcel stands as a testament to institutional persistence, public vigilance and a reminder that justice, however delayed, still holds value measured not just in billions, but in the restoration of national conscience.
