Former City Hall Chief of Staff George Wainaina risks losing his restaurant business after a county watchdog committee said it is sitting on grabbed land.
Nairobi County Assembly Public Accounts Committee (PAC), in its latest report, recommended that City Hall, in collaboration with other state agencies, immediately starts the process of evicting all encroachers from City Park.
Mr Wainaina, who served under former Governor Evans Kidero, is the proprietor of Bowling Green Safari Club located at the park.
The committee chaired by Mabatini MCA Wilfred Odalo called on the Director of Criminal Investigations (DCI) to look into how Mr Wainaina acquired the lease for the park’s land.
CRIMINAL CHARGES
The committee also wants criminal proceedings instituted against all persons involved in its fraudulent acquisition if found culpable.
“The committee was informed that the owner of the facility is former chief of staff to the former governor Evans Kidero, one Mr George Wainaina,” read the report.
It adds: “The Chief Officer Lands should spearhead the process of surveying, demarcating and ensuring the park’s title deed is safely kept and the park is restored to its natural state,” recommended the report adopted by the Nairobi County Assembly.
The report alleged that Mr Wainaina must have colluded with county officials to fraudulently lease part of the park, which is a public entity, to operate a club, contrary to existing regulations on the management of parks.
PRIVATE DEVELOPERS
The committee said several sections of the park have been encroached on by private developers and business enterprises.
They include the seedlings area, habitats for wild animals and trees in the park.
“The chief officer declined to reveal the identities of the persons although he alleged that one of the encroachers was the slain businessman Jacob Juma. He also failed to provide the original title deed of the park and the survey report of the exact size of the land,” the report further says.
The committee recommended that City Hall rein in on private developers who have grabbed or have been irregularly allocated county properties.
DEMOLISHED
The report also revealed that High Ridge Health Centre had been demolished and the parcel of land allocated to private developers.
It further noted that a private bus company had converted part of the land into a garage and parking lot.
The report showed that 8.5 acres of the 20.5 acres land currently occupied by Highways Stores had been allocated to unknown private developers.
The committee called on the county to survey, demarcate and process proper ownership documents for the part of the land LR No 209/2531 it still owns.
INVESTIGATIONS
It called for the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) and National Land Commission (NLC) to institute investigations on all transactions on the land, especially the transfer to private entities. This is to determine whether the transfers were irregular with those found culpable to be prosecuted and the transfers revoked.
“Lands executive and the chief officer should engage the NLC with a view to revoking fraudulent titles that the private developer may have acquired and ensure that within three months, (they) survey, demarcate and fence the property and put it to the original intended use,” recommended the committee
NO LEASE DOCUMENTS
“The chief officer Lands and the acting County Attorney could not avail lease documents for review. The committee was informed that the owner of the facility is former Chief of Staff to the former governor Evans Kidero, one Mr George Wainaina.”
The chief officer declined to reveal the identities of the persons although he alleged that one of the encroachers was the slain businessman Jacob Juma. He also failed to provide the original title deed of the park and the survey report of the exact size of the land,” read the report.