Court nullifies ex-minister’s title to Sh2.8B Karura land: Inside 18-year battle

In a landmark ruling that has reignited hope in Kenya’s fight against land grabbing, the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) has recovered 7.11 hectares of Karura Forest land valued at Sh2.8 billion.

The Environment and Land Court in Nairobi, presided over by Justice David Mwangi, declared that the land, known as Nairobi Block 91/386 and registered under Gigiri Court Limited, was illegally acquired and therefore must revert to public ownership.

An 18-year journey for justice

The judgment, delivered on October 23, 2025, capped an 18-year legal battle that began in 2007 when the then Kenya Anti-Corruption Commission (KACC), now EACC, filed suit against Gigiri Court Limited. 

The company had acquired the prime Gigiri property from the late former Cabinet Minister John Joseph Kamotho, a powerful figure in President Moi’s government.

According to court documents, the disputed land formed part of Karura Forest and had never been legally degazetted. 

Investigations revealed that the property was created through the amalgamation of two parcels, Nairobi Block 91/130, reserved for Kenya Technical Teachers College (KTTC), and Nairobi Block 91/333, part of the forest. 

Together, they were illegally merged to form Nairobi Block 91/386.

The tangled web of illegal transfers

EACC investigations traced the illegal chain of transactions stretching back to the late 1980s. 

The report shows that 0.566 hectares initially reserved for KTTC and 2.5 hectares hived off from Karura Forest were merged to form Block 91/333. 

In 1994, Kamotho caused the new parcel to be registered under his company, Gigiri Court Limited, which he later sold for Sh6 million to Mandip Singh Amrit and Manjit Singh Amrit.

Gigiri Court Limited then conducted a private survey, unlawfully annexing an additional 3.8 hectares from Karura Forest to create the larger Block 91/386. 

A lease was later issued by then-Commissioners of Lands, Wilson Gacanja and James Raymond Njenga, in 1995, both of whom the court has now found personally liable for their “manifestly illegal and ultra vires actions.”

Forest land is not for sale

In his ruling, Justice Mwangi declared the certificate of lease issued to Gigiri Court Limited null and void, affirming that no private individual can hold title to unlawfully acquired public property.

“The land was alienated government land, and its allocation to Hon. Kamotho was contrary to the Forest Act and the Government Lands Act,” the judge ruled.

He added that the principle of first registration does not protect unlawfully acquired property under Article 40(6) of the Constitution.

The judgment marks what EACC describes as a “major victory” for the protection of public land. The recovered property, partly forest and partly institutional, will now revert to the public.

EACC’s broader recovery mission

EACC Secretary and Chief Executive Officer Abdi A. Mohamud, MBS, hailed the ruling as a significant milestone in the Commission’s ongoing asset recovery efforts.

“The Commission has upscaled its asset recovery initiatives. In the past year alone, over 80 suits have been filed to recover assets valued at approximately Sh4.8 billion,” he said.

Among recent recoveries include:

• A road reserve worth Sh30 million in Nyali, Mombasa.

• A Sh35 million parcel of land in Bungoma is reserved for the Ministry of Housing.

• Six prime properties worth Sh75.4 million linked to former Migori Governor Okoth Obado and former Nairobi Treasury head Stephen Osiro.

• Public land worth Sh50 million in Mombasa belonging to Kenya Railways Corporation.

A warning to land grabbers

With this win, EACC has sent a strong message that public land, no matter how long ago it was grabbed, will not be lost quietly. 

The Karura case, one of Kenya’s most high-profile environmental land battles, reinforces the principle that the forest belongs to Kenyans, not to a few powerful individuals.

As Justice Mwangi’s judgment echoes through the corridors of justice, it stands as both a warning and a reassurance: stolen land may be hidden in legal paperwork, but the law will eventually find it.