Tobiko sticks to his guns, says Ngong Forest land repossession to go on

The government will not negotiate repossession of illegally acquired land inside Ngong Forest, Environment CS Keriako Tobiko has said.

Tobiko, while appearing before the National Assembly's Environment committee on Monday, said the Ngong Road Forest was acquired illegally and fraudulently and will be repossessed soon.

He told lawmakers that directors of most of the entities and companies which were listed as initial beneficiaries could not be traced at the Registrar of Companies.

"The companies were created to conceal the fraudulent transaction," Tobiko said.

The CS said his ministry will ensure the land is repossessed in line with the government's policy.

"It is a policy of government to ensure that any forest land that has been illegally acquired is reclaimed, restored, preserved and protected," he stated.

"We are working towards that. All public forest and water towers must be restored."

Developers of land hived off from Ngong Forest built residential properties on top of the Nairobi-Eldoret-Kisumu pipeline, posing risk to those residing there.

A map in our possession shows the pipeline traverses through dozens of plots that have already been developed.

The pipes snake through Sunvalley Estate phase II.

The pipe is bordered by Royal Place Estate.

Estates that are dangerously near the pipes include KMA, St. Mary’s Hospital, Lang'ata View Estate, Lang'ata Gardens, Park Place Estate and Sun Valley phase I and Phase III.

A source said authorities were still identifying the parcels after getting the LR number for the mother title.