The Department of Defense (DOD) on Friday got a big blow after the Supreme court ruled that it did not follow the law in acquiring 83 acres of a disputed land in Embakasi.
This brings to an end a decades-long land dispute related to the 5639 acres land in Embakasi that has been in court for years.
DOD had claimed ownership of the land saying they have been in occupation since 1984 but a private company Torino Enterprises had also laid claim over the same land.
However, the supreme court ruled that both DOD and Torino do not own the land but it was still under the Nairobi City Council.
“Although DOD proved that it has been in exclusive occupation and use of the suit property from 1986 to date, it failed to prove that it had acquired valid title to the suit property,” the court ruled.
The court also said Torino was not not an innocent purchaser for value without notice, entitled to orders for restoration or compensation.
The court ruled that the property remains vested in Nairobi County which is the legal successor to the defunct Nairobi City Council.
“By the same token, there being no evidence on record to the contrary, we find that the defunct Nairobi City Council acquired valid title to the Suit Property from Kayole Estates Ltd through purchase,”reads court papers
It was the court’s further finding the Commissioner of Lands lacked the authority to allocate the disputed land to Renton Company Ltd which sold to Torino.
In 2011 the high court, ordered that the government either surrenders the land to Torino Enterprises Ltd or pay for it.
But the Court of appeal gave the land back to the Military leading to Torino moving to the apex court which has not taken the land from both and handed it back to the county.
