The 100 acres of Chale Island in Kwale County, which is worth Ksh1 billion and is allegedly the property of private individuals who colluded with Kwale land authorities, are being sought back by the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) in court.
EACC's court filings say that the island was illegally split up and given to private parties, even though it was government land set aside as a Marine Reserve and Sacred Groove.
Some of the people and companies who are accused of taking part in the land grab are Swahili Beach Resorts Limited, Kwale District Land Registrar Manmohan Kaur Kalsi, Hashim Got Sat, Settlement Fund Trustee David Ndirangu Mwangi, Mohamed Omari Mbogah, Mohamed Hamisi Mwasengeza, and Halima Mohamed.
The orders that EACC asked for to stop the defendants from wasting, transferring, cutting trees, or taxing the land were given by Justice Addraya Dena of the Kwale Environment and Land Court.
The case will be heard over four days, from September 26 to September 29, 2022.
The transfer of the property to private organizations and people was criticized by EACC as being done fraudulently and in violation of any laws.
The registrar was accused of dividing up a piece of land that was meant to be used as a public utility and illegally giving it to private people so that they could take advantage of a real government plan to move squatters to new homes through the Kinondo Chale Settlement Scheme.
The island was supposedly set aside for squatters to live on as an extension of the Kinondo Chale Settlement Scheme, whose members already lived on the main land.
EACC is asking that the property be given back to the government so that it can be used by the public and that any titles held by the defendants be ruled invalid.
The National Museums of Kenya and the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) have been named as interested parties in the lawsuits.
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