EACC recovers grabbed land worth over Ksh.30M in Mombasa

The Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) has recovered public land worth Ksh.30 million in Nyali, Mombasa, following a 12-year legal battle.

In a judgment delivered on October 22, 2025, Justice S. M. Kibunja of the Mombasa Environment and Land Court declared that the allocation and issuance of a title deed to the late Sheikh Ali Taib was “illegal, null and void ab initio.”

The disputed 0.13-hectare parcel of land, which sits at the junction of Links Road and 1st Avenue in Nyali, had been reserved as a road reserve for future expansion and maintenance works by the defunct Mombasa Municipal Council.

Justice Kibunja directed the Mombasa Land Registrar to cancel the title and rectify the land register to reflect the property as public land. He further issued a permanent injunction restraining the defendants from trespassing, transferring, or in any way dealing with the property, except by surrender to the government.

According to court documents seen by Citizen Digital, investigations by EACC established that on January 19, 1996, the then Commissioner of Lands demarcated, alienated, and allocated the parcel without any application or justification. A Grant (CR Number 28222) was subsequently issued to one Shaibu Hamisi Mgandi on March 15, 1996, before he sold the land to the late Sheikh Ali Taib, who obtained the title deed for parcel MN/I/9816.

The anti-graft agency filed a Civil Suit against Mgandi, Abdullah Ali Taib (administrator of the late Sheikh Ali Taib’s estate), and former Commissioner of Lands Wilson Gachanja, seeking to nullify the allocation and recover the land for public use.

In his judgment, Justice Kibunja ruled that the parcel formed part of a public road reserve and therefore could not have been lawfully allocated to private individuals.

“The allocation and issuance of title to the 1st defendant, and the subsequent transfer to the 2nd defendant’s predecessor, was irregular, unlawful, and contrary to public interest,” the judge stated.

He further ordered the defendants to pay the costs of the suit with interest at court rates.

EACC welcomed the ruling, terming it a significant victory in its mandate to recover illegally acquired public property and ensure such assets are restored for public benefit.

The recovered land has since been handed back for public use as part of the road reserve along the busy Links Road in Nyali.