Dispute over Upper Hill Sh400 million plot heads to court amid leasing claims

Nairobi City County Government has been accused of leasing a disputed parcel of land in Upper Hill to a private firm for car park operations, despite an ongoing court case over its ownership.

The dispute involves a half-acre parcel of land valued at an estimated Sh400 million, located between the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) Upper Hill offices and Upper Hill Nursery School along Elgon Road.

Lotega Enterprises Company Limited, through lawyer William Ochanda Onguru, accuses the County of encroaching on the property despite being aware that the matter is still pending before the court.

The firm has named Nairobi City County Government as the first respondent and the Chief Land Registrar as the second respondent.

In court documents, Lotega alleges that the County entered the land on March 17, 2026, and began construction without legal authority or a court order, even though the dispute is still pending hearing and determination and is scheduled for hearing on July 29, 2026.

“The first respondent on March 17, 2026, encroached and trespassed into the suit property situated in Upper Hill, Nairobi, and without any legal authority and/or court order began construction in the land despite being aware that the suit is still pending hearing and determination before this court and is set for hearing on July 29, 2026,” the application reads in part.

The company further argues that the alleged actions are intended to undermine the court process.

“The first respondent’s illegal acts are being perpetuated with ill motive to render the said suit herein an academic exercise, as well as intentionally breaching the doctrine of lis pendens to alter, damage and alienate the current status of the suit property permanently to defeat justice,” the application states.

Environment and Land Court Judge Grace Kemei certified the application as urgent and directed that it be served for inter partes hearing scheduled for July.

The court also ordered the respondents to file and serve their responses within 15 days, with the applicant granted an additional 10 days to reply if necessary.

“That in the interim, the status quo as of today be maintained,” the order issued on April 16, 2026, states in part.

Lotega Enterprises, through its director Willy Kimutai, filed the application a month after writing to KRA cautioning the tax authority against plans to lease the land, which it claims ownership. Nairobi City County Government is also laying claim to the land, arguing that it forms part of Upper Hill Nursery School.

The ownership dispute is currently pending in court under Civil Suit No. E498 of 2024. In a letter dated February 18, 2026, received at KRA’s Legal and Board Services offices on the same day, lawyer Ochanda warned against any intended lease transaction involving the property.

“It has come to our client’s knowledge that you are in the process of executing a Lease Agreement on the above property within Nairobi City County. The letter serves as notice, and any action done contrary to our client's interests shall be henceforth be countered through a legal action,” the letter reads.