Kitale School returns from holiday for the 2025 third term this week with their heads high after winning the first round of a three-decade protracted land tussle that had displaced some of its infrastructure and facilities.
This follows a ruling by Judge Christopher Nzili of the Kitale Lands and Environment High Court on July 16, 2025 in which the EACC had sought the 4 hectares of land that was illegally allocated to a private individual be reverted back to the school established by White Settlers during colonial days.
The grabbed piece of land was part of the 98 acres owned by the school that has also been used as a bench marking and the staging centre for other schools countrywide for swimming, drama, cricket, badminton and basketball.
The EACC secured the orders restraining the further development on the land that was allegedly grabbed from the school in 1994 and converted into commercial entities such a petrol station, residential houses and a supermarket.
In the ruling, the Judge ordered that pending the conclusion of the suit, the proceeds from the commercial operations on the said disputed land be deposited both in the bank accounts of the estate of the respondent the late CEO Kenya Seed Company Nathaniel Tum and school.
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According to the EACC investigations that commenced in 2023, the land formerly registered as Kitale Municipality Block 12/132 was changed to Block 12/236 and illegally allocated to Tum by the former Commissioner of Lands Wilson Gachanja.
At the time of the change of the land ownership, the late Tum was the chairman of the PTA and EACC says in their affidavit the deceased used his influence over the parents and within the government to collude with Gachanja to benefit from the land that is the property of the community.
The school with more than 2000 students in the primary and secondary sections is sponsored by ACK Kitale diocese under Bishop Emmanuel Chemengich.
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According to the EACC investigations, the allocation had encroached on the facilities of the school including the dining hall, dormitories and the sewer system, adding that the private developer had constructed the structures without consent from the MoE.
Judge Nzili said the EACC had established a prima facie case that the land was all intended for an education centre but turned into private hands through the collusion of the private developer and a senior government official.
Due to this, the Judge ruled, the land should be put under strict control of the Judiciary to stop it from further looting and to protect public interest.
He also put a stop on the sub-divining, leasing, selling and interfering with the business going on the said land.
BY ABISAI AMUGUNE
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