The Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission has moved to court seeking Sh1.6 billion from Rubis Energy over the alleged acquisition of public land belonging to Kenya Railways Corporation.
EACC has sued former lands officials who served as the commissioners of lands between 1975 to 1999.
Also sued is a former director of physical planning in the Lands Ministry.
The anti-graft agency in its suit papers alleges that the former land officials irregularly allocated the land to private entities.
The said land is the parcel situated at the corner of Uhuru Highway and Haile Selassie Avenue where Rubis has its headquarters.
EACC claims the land was originally reserved for Kenya Railways and subsequently surrendered for the construction of a flyover to ease traffic congestion in Nairobi.
The agency says its investigations found that the land was reportedly irregularly alienated and allocated to private entities with all the land officials involved in the process.
"EACC contends that the property was land alienated for public utilities and therefore was not available for allocation. Therefore, the purported alienation and creation of LR No. 209/9641 and LR No. 209/12133 by the defendants was fraudulent, illegal, null and void," EACC says in its affidavits before the Environment and Land Court in Nairobi.
The agency accuses the former lands officials of unlawful disposition of public property.
It also accuses Rubis of knowingly and fraudulently contriving to alienate an already alienated public land.
"As such, the defendants were in breach of their fiduciary duties by purporting to alienate the suit property."
The Anti-graft agency further alleges that Rubis has declined to surrender the land to the government despite requests by Kenya Railways to do so.
EACC wants the firm to pay Sh1.6 billion as compensation for using the land for private use over the years
