Former Lands Commissioner Mwaita Ordered to Pay Sh5 Million for Dishing Out Public Land

The Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) has obtained a court order compelling former Lands Commissioner Sammy Kipkorir Mwaita to pay Sh5 million in damages for the illegal allocation of public land in Mombasa.

This is after the anti-graft agency successfully recovered a Sh70 million government house located in Nyali, Mombasa.

The property, registered as MN/I/2396- HOUSE NUMBER HG143 NYALI ESTATE belongs to the Kenya Civil Aviation Authority (KCAA).

The orders compelling Mwaita to pay the amount were issued by Justice Lucas Leperes Naikuni of the Mombasa Environment and Land Court following an application filed by EACC.

“In a new and progressive jurisprudence in the recovery of grabbed public land in Kenya, Justice Naikuni went ahead to order the then Commissioner of Lands, Sammy Mwaita, who facilitated the fraudulent transaction to personally pay S5 Mimllion in damages for breaching public trust by dishing out public land to private persons,” EACC said in a statement.

In addition to surrendering the property, Mwaita and two other defendants were ordered to jointly pay Sh30 million in general damages for denying the Government use of the property for public benefit during the 22 years when the land was in illegal possession.