Embattled chairman of the National Land Commission Muhammad Swazuri is on the limelight yet again over compensation of Sh519million against a court order barring the same. The payment was made to a Mombasa based tycoon Mohamed Jaffer of African Gas & Oil Company Ltd.
Documents show that African Gas & Oil Company Ltd was compensated in two instalment payments of Sh360m and Sh159m. Administrators of the estate of James Kamau Thiong’o filed a court case in Mombasa against NLC barring the commission from paying Jaffer. Jaffer is also the proprietor of Grainbulk Handlers Ltd.
The land at the center of ownership dispute between Kamau family and Jaffer was compulsorily acquired by the government for construction of the Standard Gauge Railway plot number 755/VI/755 bearing Title No. CR4151.
“It is ordered that this honourable court hereby restrains he defendant by itself, agents, employees, proxies, servants, officers, directors or otherwise from effecting payment, or any payments and or compensation and or in any other way or manner from interfering with all that parcel known as L.T NO. MN/VI/4737 pending the hearing and determination of this suit.”
The order issued by Justice Ann Omollo reads in part. The new storm stalking Swazuri comes at a time he is grappling to wither the brazen attempt by the National Assembly to remove him from office. A senior official at the NLC confirmed African Gas & Oil Company Ltd, has already been compensated. “The payment of Sh519million ha
s already been made to African Gas & Oil.” Our source intimated.
The same case is still pending before the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (Eacc). In a letter dated February 2, 2017, Joseph Nyingi Kamau and three other people petitioned the Eacc to investigate plans by the NLC to compensate African Gas & Oil Company Ltd, a company Sh519 million for a parcel of land the petitioners said belonged to them.
Lawyers Ndegwa, Katisya, Sitonik Advocates, say the petitioners are being unreasonably deprived their right, to full and just compensation. “The petitioners are denied their rights to fair administrative action under Article 47 since the actions of the respondent (NLC) are unlawful, unreasonable and procedurally unfair and no reasons have been given,” the letter says in part.
Numerous complaints have been filed both in Parliament and at Eacc over the manner in which the NLC has handled compensation for the SGR and other parcels of land countrywide.
In a petition filed by Mugo Njeru who is seeking the removal of Swazuri, the petitioner argues that in one of the unfair compensation cases, a company belonging to Tanzanian tycoon, Salim Bakhresa, Bakhresa Grain Millers Ltd, was compensated Sh 82,818,000 against a title deed under dispute.
In his petition, that was received by the Clerk of the National Assembly on February 23, 201 , Njeru wants Swazuri to be removed for failing to uphold a high level of integrity as stipulated in the Leadership and Integrity Act.
