•The school was established in 1989 as a community school.
•The hearing will continue on December 2.
Image: FILE
Former Nairobi Governor Mike Sonko has told a Nairobi court that he tried to intervene and claim back a school’s playground in Kamukunji that was illegally allocated to a private developer by the county.
Sonko appeared before Justice Mboya on Wednesday.
He said in 2014, Kamukunji Secondary School secretary Baraza Nalianya raised a complaint with his office seeking assistance in claiming back its illegally allocated school playing field from Inter-Countries Importers and Exporters Limited.
Sonko subsequently followed up with the city council revealing that the land was a public one held in trust by the then City Council of Nairobi for public use and not subject to alienation or transfer.
“A search with the lands offices revealed that the developer had illegally allocated the land to the detriment of the school,” he said.
The court heard that Sonko commenced correspondences with relevant government departments requesting their support in the process of revoking and repossessing the land.
“I wrote a letter to the then Nairobi Governor Evans Kidero on July 18 2013. Kidero said they were pursuing the matter and had initiated the revocation process,” said Sonko said.
He also sought the indulgence of the county government and the Ministry of Education.
Letters were written to NLC to initiate the revocation with no success.
In this case, the chairman, secretary and treasurer of the Kamukunji Secondary School board of governors and Mike Sonko sued the developer, Nairobi City County and the Attorney General on behalf of the Ministry of Lands CS.
According to court documents, the school was established in 1989 as a community school. It was allocated two parcel numbers which were compromised in a certificate of title issued on October 1, 1938.
The deed is registered as having been issued to the then City Council of Nairobi presently the Nairobi city county.
The two parcels of land were allocated LR No 209/2531/12 for the construction of a classroom while LR No. 209/12623 (the suit property) was allocated as the only school playing ground.
The second defendant has despite several pleas to issue title to the school failed to issue allotment documents thus the Lands ministry could not prepare title deeds for the school.
As a result, the school has no ownership documents of the two parcels of land.
In 1997, it was brought to the attention of the school that the suit property had been illegally leased to the first defendant with the full knowledge that the land had already been allocated for the first plaintiff.
The said parcel encompassed the school playground.
The hearing will continue on December 2.
Edited by Kiilu Damaris