Tobiko, while appearing before the National Assembly Environment committee, said the deal was executed in a web-like operation leaving no trace as to who the original grabbers are to date.
He said most of the companies used in the land grab, their directors could not be traced from all government records including Registrar of Companies.
The cartels created amorphous companies with sole aim of transferring government land to private hands and selling to unsuspecting Kenyans making a killing from the illegal transactions.
“Over time, several parcels in the undegazetted forest area of Ngong Road Forest Reserve were illegally and fraudulently allocated to various individuals, companies and other entities and purported titles in respect thereof,” Tobiko told MPs.
According to records at the Environment ministry, the original beneficiaries of the allocations were 207 and the searches and companies and lands registries have not unearthed the actual beneficiaries of the illegal allocations.
“As would be evident, a number of the illegal beneficiaries were companies, business names/firms, no doubt intended to conceal the true identities of the individuals behind them and the real beneficiaries of the illegal allocations.”
Documents tabled before the committee chaired by Maara MP Kareke Mbiuki reveals how three entities illegally grabbed 34 acres belonging to Lang’ata Women’s Prison and sold to individual developers.
Bahati MP Onesmus Ngunjiri, Arladyks Investments Limited and Prilscot Company Limited obtained the large swath of land, subdivided and sold it to third parties, giving birth to high-end residential homes in Lang’ata.
Ngunjiri got 14 acres, Prilscot 10 acres and Arladyks taking the remaining 10 acres.
Ngunjiri’s plot, which was quickly sold to third parties, is today’s Sun Valley Phase 1, Lang’ata View apartments, Lang’ata Place apartments and Lang’ata Gardens.
Records at the Environment ministry indicate Ngunjiri’s plot was allocated on March 18, 1993, and given a Letter of Allotment four months later.
Prilscot’s parcel was first transferred to Gravity Exporters Limited, which later transferred it to St Mary’s Hospital.
Arladyks’ portion was first transferred to Jackim Limited and is where KMA sits today.
The Bahati MP – a staunch supporter of Deputy President – did not respond to our phone calls or text messages but is on record during an interview with Nation TV admitting he was allocated the land in 1992 by then Commissioner of Lands.
“I don’t have forest land, the land I had is land that was given to me with letters explaining that the ministry has been having this land for 12 years so I can allocate people to develop it,” the lawmaker said.
Tobiko told MPs that the Legal Notice No. 44 of 1998 that hived off forest land was irregular and part of the general scheme to grab the public land.
Then Cabinet minister Francis Lotodo irregularly degazetted part of Ngong Forest being part of government decision to create space for social amenities, the land however, ended up in private hands.
The documents tabled by the CS also point to a series of deliberate transactions to illegally hive off forest land and transfer to individuals, a process that involved senior government officials of the time.
For instance, in 1996, a freehold title deed grant No. I.R 70244 was issued to Treasury PS to hold in trust for the Environment PS leaving out an area covering 839.67 acres from the original forest area of 3,283.57 acres.
In similar transaction in 1999, a title was surrendered to the Commissioner of Lands and a leasehold title deed : Grant I.R 81938 for an area of 538.2 hectares issued to Treasury PS to hold in trust for Ngong Road sanctuary.
This too left out an area of 1,112 acres.
“In total, 1,951.64 acres were left outside the boundaries of the Ngong Road Forest. The land excluded from the title was allocated to private developers, some of whom have since transferred it to other third parties,” documents submitted by Tobiko read.
Tobiko also told the Kareke-led committee that his ministry is open to talks with the homeowners on condition that they admit to holding illegal titles.
Already, the homeowners have successfully obtained court orders stopping any demolition of their homes pending determination of their case.
Ngong Road Forest was gazetted as forest reserve as per proclamation No. 44 of 1932 and covered 7,231.79 acres. It was declared as central forest under Legal Notice No. 174 of May 20, 1964.
Various excisions have taken place for public and private development leading to establishment of Lenana School, Extelecoms, St. Francis Anglican Church, P.C.E.A, Mugumoini Church, Lang’ata Cemetery. The War Cemetery, Kenya Science Teachers College, Meteorological Department and the ASK Showground.
Nationally, Kenya has 6,391,517.69 acres of gazetted public forests which spreads across the 47 counties.
The ministry’s records puts encroachments into public forests at 323,549.44 acres forming 5.1 per cent.