NAIROBI, Kenya Oct 23 – The Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) has won a 12-year legal battle to recover public land worth Kes30 million that had been grabbed in Nyali, Mombasa County.
The 0.13-hectare parcel, reserved for the expansion of Links Road adjoining 1st Avenue, has now been restored for public use.
In a judgment delivered on 22nd October 2025, Justice S. M. Kibunja of the Mombasa Environment and Land Court declared the issuance of title MN/I/9816 to Sheikh Ali Taib (now deceased) illegal, null, and void ab initio.
The Court directed the Mombasa Land Registrar to cancel the title and rectify the land register accordingly.
EACC investigations established that on 19th January 1996, the then Commissioner of Lands, without any application or justification, demarcated, alienated, and allocated the parcel on a 99-year lease from February 1, 1996. A Grant, CR Number 28222, was irregularly issued to one Shaibu Hamisi Mgandi on 15th March 1996.
Shortly thereafter, Mgandi sold the property to the late Sheikh Ali Taib, who obtained a title for parcel number MN/I/9816, measuring approximately 0.13 hectares.
The land forms part of the Classic Road reserve, previously vested in the defunct Mombasa Municipal Council for road maintenance and future expansion.
On 13th May 2013, EACC filed Civil Suit No. ELC 85 of 2013 at the Mombasa Environment and Land Court against Shaibu Hamisi Mgandi, Abdullah Ali Taib (administrator of the estate of the late Sheikh Ali Taib), and former Commissioner of Lands, Wilson Gachanja. The suit sought to nullify the illegal allocation and recover the land for public use.
Justice Kibunja also issued a permanent injunction restraining the defendants from trespassing upon, transferring, or in any way dealing with the property, except by surrender to the Government of Kenya. The defendants were further ordered to pay the costs of the suit with interest at court rates.
This judgment reaffirms the Commission’s commitment to recovering illegally acquired public property and ensuring that such assets are restored for the benefit of all Kenyans.
