EACC CEO Abdi Muhamud speaking to the media in Kisumu on July 21,2026./FAITH MATETE
The Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) has moved to recover 7.6 acres of Kenya Prisons Service land in Kisumu's Milimani area, which it says was illegally and irregularly converted into private property.
The disputed land is valued at approximately Sh790 million, excluding developments. Its value rises to about Sh4.3 billion when the developments on the property are included.
The land is part of an original 16.2-acre parcel reserved for the Kenya Prisons Service for the construction of regional headquarters and staff housing.
Commisoner General Kenya Prisons Patrick Mwiti speaking in Kisumu on July 21, 2026/FAITH MATETE
The Commission said additional cases would be filed in phases.
The investigation followed a complaint filed by the Kenya Prisons Service in February 2022 over the alleged unlawful occupation, subdivision and alienation of its land.
How the land was allegedly acquired
EACC investigations indicate that the property had been reserved for prison use as early as 1961 through a Legal Gazette Notice issued by the colonial government.
Planning for the land began in 1965, with a plan prepared on July 9 that year designating it for prisons and prison housing.
The land was surveyed in 1966.
The Kisumu Development Plan of 1971 and a subsequent Part Development Plan of 1978 later reserved Parcel No. KISUMU/MUNICIPALITY BLOCK 10/98, measuring 6.556 hectares, for Prisons Headquarters and staff housing.
The Commission said the Kenya Prisons Service occupied the land and had staff houses on the property before a portion was allegedly excised and converted to private use.
Some of the prison houses were reportedly demolished to pave the way for private settlement.
The EACC alleged that former government officials colluded to acquire approximately 7.6 acres of the prison land.
The Commission alleges that the process involved forged documents, including an allotment letter and a Part Development Plan, as well as false representations.
According to the EACC, the land had initially been sought for a proposed secondary school.
The plan allegedly changed, with a subsequent request made for the allocation of part of the prison land for private residential development.
The Commission further alleges that officials who were then in charge of the Kenya Prisons Service used their positions to influence the allocation.
The land was later subdivided into 92 parcels and sold to individuals.
The area is now largely developed and is known as Winam Estate.
EACC warns landowners
Speaking in Kisumu, EACC CEO Abdi Muhamud urged individuals holding ownership documents for the undeveloped portion of the disputed land to surrender the documents and return the parcels to the government.
He said the Commission would use all lawful means to recover public land.
"I want to urge those who have documents for this undeveloped part of the land that the most reasonable thing for them to do is to hand back those documents to the Commission and surrender the parcels back to the government," he said.
The official warned that public land acquired through irregular processes would eventually revert to the public.
"It may take some time, but eventually, all those properties will revert back to the public for the intended purposes," he said.
He also urged individuals who had acquired public land illegally or irregularly to consider the Alternative Dispute Resolution mechanism and voluntarily surrender the property instead of waiting for lengthy and costly court proceedings.
The Commission said it would also pursue land officials who facilitated the alleged irregular allocation.
"Other than the civil litigation through which we revert the property to the public for its intended use, we will also go after the land officials who facilitated the illegality that arose in the process of allocating that particular land," the official said.
The Kenya Prisons Service welcomed the recovery efforts, saying the Kisumu property was meant for the construction of regional prisons headquarters and staff houses.
Commissioner General of Prisons Patrick Mwiti said the department had land and facilities across all seven regions of the country and was facing encroachment on land reserved for prison development.
"According to the plans that were put in place, this parcel of land was meant for the construction of regional prisons headquarters and the development and construction of staff houses," Mwiti said.
He said they are working with the EACC and county governments to recover public land that had been irregularly acquired.
He also raised concern over the encroachment on government houses reserved for civil servants and public officers.
The EACC said it had helped recover public land belonging to government agencies in Kisumu, including Kenya Railways, and would continue pursuing the recovery of public property across the country.
The Commission is seeking declarations that the transactions leading to the acquisition and subdivision of the Kisumu land were illegal, fraudulent, null and void.
It also wants all resultant titles cancelled and the property restored to the Kenya Prisons Service.
The case is now before the courts.
