Kenya High Court has upheld the government’s ownership of the Kenyatta International Convention Centre (KICC), dismissing a petition filed by the Kenya African National Union (KANU).
Judge Jackline Mogenyi’s recent verdict declared that the commissioner of lands lacked authority in 1989 to transfer the land ownership to KANU, in a ruling delivered this Monday.
“The suit property, as registered in the name of the Permanent Secretary under the Ministry of Tourism, is appropriate.”
“The Ministry of Tourism is the rightful owner of the land, and KANU’s registration is deemed unlawful, illegal, and unconstitutional,” the court pronounced.
Originally believed to be under KANU’s ownership, control of KICC transitioned to the government during President Mwai Kibaki’s tenure in 2003.
The judge raised doubts regarding the allocation of the land to the late President Daniel Arap Moi, which had not been surveyed or designated for public use.
In her observations, the judge noted the absence of evidence from KANU regarding the procedural aspects of how public land was alienated and subsequently allocated to the Chairman of a political party.
Under Kanu’s initiative, the case was brought before the Environment and Land Court in 2020, aiming to regain the land, asserting that it had been allocated to them by the commissioner of lands in May 1969.
Presently, the property is among those being considered for privatization.
