Frontier Eye Desk
Mombasa, Kenya.
The Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) has scored a major victory after the Environment and Land Court ordered the recovery of a prime public plot worth KSh 30 million in Nyali, Mombasa.
The ruling, delivered on October 22, marks the end of a 12-year legal battle and reaffirms the agency’s commitment to reclaiming public assets lost through illegal allocations.
The 0.13-hectare parcel, originally reserved for the expansion of Nyali Road, had been unlawfully leased for 99 years beginning February 1, 1996, to the late Sheikh Ali Taib, a prominent local businessman.
EACC investigations revealed that the lease was irregularly approved by the then Commissioner of Lands on January 19, 1996, despite the land being designated for public infrastructure and unavailable for private ownership.
In his detailed judgment, Justice Stephen Kibunja declared the title deed issued to Taib “unlawful, illegal, invalid, null, and void.” He directed the Mombasa Land Registrar to cancel the fraudulent lease for parcel MN/I/9816 and amend the land register to reflect the land’s rightful status as public property. The court also nullified any subsequent transactions or interests that had stemmed from the illegal title.
The recovery follows a civil suit filed by EACC on May 13, 2013, setting off a protracted legal contest with Taib’s family, who had inherited the property.
The commission argued that the unlawful grant deprived the public of vital space intended for road expansion and urban development in one of Mombasa’s most valuable areas.
“EACC welcomes this judgment as it reaffirms our unwavering commitment to reclaiming public assets unlawfully acquired by private individuals and entities,” the commission said in an official statement.
This latest triumph adds to EACC’s growing list of successful recoveries across Kenya, particularly in the coastal region where land grabbing has long been rampant.
In July 2025, the agency recovered another KSh 30 million plot adjacent to State House Mombasa, which had been illegally transferred through collusion between a former district officer and a local hotelier. That case also ended with the court nullifying fraudulent documents and restoring the land to public ownership.
Land grabbing remains a persistent challenge in Kenya, especially in major urban hubs like Mombasa, Nairobi, and Kisumu. In Mombasa alone, EACC is pursuing over 130 active recovery suits involving properties worth billions of shillings. Many of these parcels were originally designated for public amenities such as roads, schools, hospitals, and utilities but were fraudulently allocated to private developers.
The commission has urged members of the public and potential investors to conduct thorough due diligence before purchasing land, warning that many titles in the coastal region are under investigation.
With the Nyali plot now reverting to government control, local authorities are expected to proceed with the long-delayed road expansion project aimed at easing congestion along the busy Nyali corridor.
EACC officials hailed the judgment as a clear message to land cartels and corrupt officials: public land is not for private profit.
“This ruling sends a strong signal that impunity in land matters will no longer go unpunished. Every public asset grabbed unlawfully will be recovered — no matter how long it takes,” said an EACC spokesperson.
The Nyali case, nearly three decades in the making, underscores the commission’s long-term resolve to defend public resources and restore integrity in land administration across Kenya.