The Kenya Airports Authority (KAA) has been directed by parliament to safeguard 85 parcels of land in seven airports and airstrips whose ownership is in doubt to prevent seizing until the dispute over their title deeds is resolved.
The Public Investments Committee (PIC) mentioned a plot of land owned by the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) that has 46 title deeds in dispute, claiming that the failure to safeguard the site exposes it to unlawful occupants.
Following its inquiries into titles within the JKIA, the National Land Commission (NLC) recommended the cancellation of the titles.
In a report on the audit of State enterprises, Mvita Member of Parliament (MP) Abdulswamad Nassir, who chairs the committee, said: “It was also not possible to confirm if there are other parcels of land with disputes and the exposure these may have on the authority’s claim to the land,”
Wilson Airport has eight titles in contention, Moi International Airport Mombasa has ten, Kisumu International Airport has three, Kitale airstrip has two, Eldoret airstrip has thirteen, and Malindi Airport has one, and Embakasi Airport has one.
The committee did observe, however, that the KAA administration did not offer any information about the nature of the conflicts, the value of the land concerned, or the parties engaged and their current status.
The subject parcels of land at Moi International Airport, according to the committee, were allocated before the KAA’s title was issued and do not form part of the net area of 538.76 hectares.
The three irregular allocations at Kisumu International Airport were not part of the Kisumu Municipality Block hived off to build the airport, and hence were outside the existing airport title.
The KAA had paid for searches to authenticate the registration of the subject parcels at Eldoret Airstrip, according to the committee, and was awaiting the results.
The irregular allocations are part of Malindi Airport’s main title, according to PIC, and have thus been included in the financial statements.