A senior official at the Ministry of Lands has said Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua is the legitimate owner of a Sh1.5 billion disputed property in Nairobi.
In documents filed before the Environment and Lands Court, Nyandoro David said the title issued to Colombus Limited was irregularly issued as the title for Wamunyoro Investments Limited was already in existence.
Gachagua who is the MD of Wamunyoro has been battling over the ownership of the property after John Ohas and Colombus laid claim to it.
Through his lawyer Philip Nyachoti the DP claims that the former director of Physical planning Ohas tampered with records at the land office in a bid to rob him of the property.
The property he said is charged to the Equity Bank as collateral for various financial facilities granted to him at the sum of Sh200 million.
The affidavit by Nyandoro has vindicated the DP as it has emerged that the property was transferred to Gachagua on June 18, 2012 at Sh24 million.
Nyandoro explains that the grant was first issued to Peter Nduati and Karandi Farm on December 31, 2002.
The land registar held at the nairobi central land registry was then reported missing and a reconstruction of the register was subsequently initiated.
On June 18, 2012, the property was transferred to Wamunyoro for Sh 24 million.
A year later, Nyandoro says the property was charged to Equity Bank for Sh200 million. The charge still continues.
"Our office has learnt that on September 2019, another lease was prepared in favour of Colombus for a term of 99 years with effect from February 1, 1994 at an annual rent of Sh138,400. Come September 2019, a title was issued in favour of Colombus," affidavit reads.
Nyandoro said the title held by Colombus ought to be cancelled unless the court declares otherwise.
Since the case was filed last year, Gachagua has maintained that Wamunyoro has always been the legal owner of the disputed property but Ohas and his company in December 2019 deliberately tampered with the records at the lands office.
Ohas has been accused of causing a parallel title to be irregularly and unlawfully issued to his company Colombus.
According to the court documents, the previous owners of the land situated in Nairobi were Karandi Farm limited, Peter Mbugua and Pauline Muringe.
The three were on April 30, 1999, jointly allotted the suit property for Sh554,000. The money was paid and a certificate was issued.
Gachagua was subsequently approached by the owners of the property with the intention of selling it.
“I carried out due diligence and was able to confirm that the previous owners certificate of title was authentic and indeed genuine,” Gachagua said.
Gachagua then purchased the property for Sh24 million from the previous owners. A transfer was effected and a title deed issued to the company.
From the time he purchased it in 2012, he has been paying land rates to the county government of Nairobi.
But in 2016, Ohas and his company lodged a formal complaint with the National Land commission against Wamunyoro in respect to the property.
Ohas claimed to have been allotted the land on February 3, 1994 and soon thereafter, the property was invaded by thousands of squatters who made it impossible for him to utilise it.
Court hear that 18 years later, the government evicted the squatters. When an interest to develop the property arose. Ohas as quoted in the documents by Gachagua discovered it had been fenced off by someone claiming ownership.
"Ohas claims to have carried out investigations which revealed that the title had been secretly issued to another person without his knowledge," an affidavit sworn by Gachagua reads.
Wamunyoro then put in a memorandum before the NLC explaining how they acquired the land.
They told NLC that when they purchased the property, a search was conducted and it was confirmed at the lands registry that the previous vendors were the legal and rightful owners of the land.
The NLC after hearing from both parties held that the property was Wamunyoro’s. This decision was delivered in March 2016.
Wamunyoro argues that Colombus has never taken any steps to review or appeal the said decision.
“The decision is still in full force and therefore binding upon Ohas and his company,” Gachagua said.
“The illegal registration was procured by Ohas and his company long after ownership and legitimacy of the first title of the suit property had been conclusively considered and confirmed by the NLC."
