Police and women group renew fight for 70-acre South C land

The dispute over the ownership of a 70-acre parcel in Nairobi’s South-C area claimed by the police has taken a new turn after the appellate court set aside orders granted a decade ago prohibiting the eviction of a group of squatters from the land.

The judges allowed the appeal by the police, but observed that the title deed held by a group calling itself Wilson Mitumba Women group had not been challenged.

While allowing the appeal, Justices Martha Koome, Hannah Okwengu and Jamila Mohammed said the High Court sitting as a judicial review court, was not called upon to determine who the rightful owner of the suit property. They also noted that the government had filed a case challenging the title.

The appellate judges further castigated the police over abuse of power by evicting the over 600 members of the group from the land, “in total disregard to the title” they were holding.

“The police whose action the respondents complained of, had no power to issue or cancel title. That was the power which was reserved to the Registrar of Titles under the Registration of Titles Act. Moreover, as observed by the learned judge, there was no evidence placed before the court of any decision or threatened decision concerning the title, upon which the court could have acted,” the judges observed.

“This was compounded by the total impunity of the appellants in not even bothering to justify that action when the matter came up for hearing before the court.”

The officials of the group claim that they were allocated the land in December 1990 and that they paid an allotment fee of Sh2,657,550.

Their lawyer Ashford Mugwuku said they were in the process of putting up some 300 residential houses, assisted by donors when they were evicted in March 2005. Justice Joseph Nyamu issued the orders, prohibiting the police from evicting them.

The government then filed an appeal with the Attorney-General and the group claiming ownership of the land.

The group maintained that it was still occupying the land.

Part of the parcel has some 595 massionettes, which were abandoned by the donors after a dispute arose over the ownership of the land. Police officers were later allocated the houses.