Absa Kenya loses bid to have funds paid for road project land increased
Absa Kenya lost a bid to have Sh68.5 million paid in 2018 following the compulsory acquisition of its land in Changamwe, Mombasa County, which increased to Sh132 million.
The parcel was acquired by the Kenya National Highways Authority (KeNHA) for the expansion of the Mombasa-Nairobi highway.
The bank, formerly known as Barclays Bank of Kenya, sued the National Land Commission (NLC) and KeNHA, protesting that the Sh68.5 million paid for its land was far below the prevailing market prices.
The lender sought to have the award reviewed upwards to Sh132 million for the land and a building that was demolished to pave the way for the dualling of the carriageway.
Environment and Land Court Judge Sila Munyao dismissed the petition, saying the valuation report used by the lender was unreliable.
“…the valuation by Tysons Limited, having been done on August 10, 2015, about two years before the intention to compulsorily acquire a portion of the lender’s land, and before KeNHA had marked off the ground to ascertain the acreage, is unreliable and insufficient to challenge the valuation done by the NLC that formed the basis of the award,” said Justice Munyao.
The lender wanted KeNHA compelled to pay 14 per cent interest per year until the clearance date.
The lender said it was the registered owner of a parcel on Mainland North which housed its Changamwe Branch.
The court heard that KeNHA approached the lender in 2017 as it wanted to turn the Mombasa-Nairobi highway into a dual carriageway.
The bank said the authority then published a gazette notice on the intention to acquire a portion of the property measuring 0.937 hectares.
Inaccurate acreage
However, the lender noticed that the acreage quoted in the notice was inaccurate and it sought to correct it but got no response.
According to the lender, the award was unreasonable and unlawful for it failed to indicate the value of the land and developments demolished to pave the way for the highway, as required under section 113(2)(a) of the Land Act.
Again, the bank noted that the NLC, which acquired the land on behalf of the government, failed to take into account 15 per cent statutory disturbance.
Absa Kenya told the court that the award was not fair and just as expected in section 111(1) of the Land Act, as its valuation report of March 9, 2017, took into account all relevant factors and valued the property at Sh132,050,000.
Absa also relied on a valuation report by Tysons Limited.
KeNHA said it had noticed an error in the acreage of some of the properties and another gazette notice on January 12, 2018, was published with the correct acreage and further invited the public to attend an inquiry.
For its part, NLC indicated that it inspected the property in March 2017 to establish the extent and nature of the developments and the corridor the road would traverse.
The court heard that NLC made its representations and issued the award as required by section 112 of the Land Act.
The NLC concluded that Sh68.5 million was just and fair compensation for the land compulsorily acquired, subsequent improvements and a 15 per cent disturbance allowance.
NLC argued that the lender exaggerated the land prices, putting the price of an acre at Sh146 million, yet the market value in the area was Sh70 million.
“The plaintiff has failed to prove its case against the defendants to the standard required and the suit is hereby dismissed,” ruled Justice Munyao. BY DAILY NATION
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