The National Government is set to construct affordable housing through the Affordable Housing Program in Nkaimurunya Ward. Still, the move has sparked opposition from a section of residents and the Presbyterian Church of East Africa (PCEA).
The PCEA church states that the Government did not consult them, as they are the custodian of the land that the government has set aside for affordable housing. The land in question is part of a total of 152 acres, which the church claims ownership of.
The government had announced a public participation for the project in a letter dated.
The church and government contention is in connection with a case the church says is active in court an Appeal to case Environment and Land Case 239 & 20 of 2017 that has been ongoing in court for years now, the case is between The PCEA church under The Presbyterian Foundation (Plaintiff) vs and Jacob Wang’ola (1st Defendant) Development Organization (2nd defendant), Kennedy Gitau (3rd defendant) and County Government of Kajiado (Respondent).
The Presbyterian Foundation had gone to court to seek a permanent injunction to restrain the defendants, their employees, servants, agents or any person claiming or acting in their name, howsoever, from entering, encroaching on or in any other way interfering with the possession and use of all that parcel of land known as Ngong/ Ngong/528.
The case was ruled on September 26, 2024, by Justice Maxwell Gicheru. In his ruling, Justice Gicheru dismissed the Presbyterian Foundation’s suit, directing the register for the suit land, being Ngong/Ngong/528, to be rectified by cancelling all entries showing The Presbyterian Foundation as the proprietor.
He also directed the register for the suit land to be amended to reflect the registered owner as the County Government of Kajiado.
During the hearing, the Foundation stated that they are the registered owner of the suit land, which measures 152 acres.
They argued that the land was one of the nine (9) parcels that were allocated to the PCEA Church long before Kenya gained independence in 1963.
The church had owned the land before it was registered in their name. In 1970, the PCEA Church Ngong applied for formal registration as the owner of the suit land, and the County Council formally allocated the suit land to the church.
In 1999, the church decided to pursue the title to the suit land, along with other parcels. On 15 December 1999, after complying with all the registration requirements, a title deed for the suit land was issued by the Kajiado District Land Registry.
The church stated that over the years it has allowed various community benefit institutions to be developed on parts of the suit land.
They include the following: PCEA Nakeel Secondary School, PCEA Ongata Rongai Primary School, PCEA Nkai Murunya Secondary School, PCEA Nakeel Primary School.Oloolaiser Water Company, Ongata Rongai Health Centre and Matumaini Children’s Home.
“The church has a master plan for development of the suit land, but the local chief, together with some community activists calling themselves Orendo, have been trying to obstruct the church,” the church stated in its submission.
The defendants had stated that the Ongata Rongai adjudication Section was done in the 1960s. The adjudication committee set apart the suit parcel as public land for school purposes, and the freehold title here was registered in the name of Olkejuado County Council on 11/1/1966.
It remained so until 15 December 1999, when the plaintiff purportedly became registered as the owner and a title deed was issued. They argued that the suit land was not available for alienation to the plaintiff and the registration was fraudulent.
The court made the following findings that the registration of the suit land in the name of the church was fraudulent for the following reasons.
Firstly, the letter dated 19 June 1979 from the clerk to Olkejuado County Council, addressed to the Parish Minister, clearly stated that the suit land was mainly for schools, not church activities.
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Thirdly, the copy of the register for the suit land shows that the suit land was reserved for education purposes.
Fourthly, there was overwhelming evidence from the County Land Surveyor that the correct procedure of alienating public land was not followed.
There was no meeting of the County Council that should have passed a resolution that public land on which many public institutions, including schools, a health centre, a chief’s office, and a children’s home, among other utilities, be transferred to a private entity, while the said institutions had been in existence for many years with the Government’s approval.
The judge also stated that the absence of a sale agreement contravenes Section 3 of the Law of Contract Act. Other notable contraventions include the Land Control Act, as there was no evidence of consent from the Land Control Board, and no valid transfer of the land by an authorised officer of the County Council of Olkejuado.
The Attorney General, who appears in the suit on behalf of the 3rd defendant, supported the revocation of the church’s title.
“When the plaintiff was registered as the owner of the suit land, the schools, the water supply, the health centre, the stadium, the children’s home, the chief’s office and the other social amenities were already in place,” part of the ruling read.
Justice Gicheru also stated that the occupiers have a proprietary interest that is superior to the title held by the plaintiff, and this interest need not be noted in the register.
According to statements presented to the court by the defendants, the 152 acres is occupied by eleven (11) community development organisations as follows.
Ongata Rongai Primary School was built in 1948, registered in 1950, and again in 1962. It occupies 30 acres of the suit parcel.
Nakeel Secondary School, established in 1985 and registered in 1987, is a Government Provincial Boys’ Secondary School. It covers approximately 40 acres of the suit land and has dormitories and teachers’ quarters.
Nakeel Primary School was built in 1985 and registered in 2008, with 1,639 enrolled students, and sits on approximately 14 acres of the suit parcel.
Nkaimurunya Mixed Day Secondary School, which was built in 1999 and registered in 2008, is situated on approximately 20 acres of the suit parcel.
Ongata Rongai Nursery School was built in the year 1964 and sits on approximately 4 acres of the suit parcel.
Ongata Rongai Health Centre was built in 1988. It serves the broader community and sits on 12 acres of the suit land.
Matumaini Save the Children Centre, which was built in 1989 and is aided by a Japanese donor. It shelters orphaned and destitute children and sits on about 12 acres of the suit land.
Oloolaiser Water Supply, also known as Dancan Springs or Nyakio Water Treatment Plant. It is the source of water for the residents of Ongata Rongai. The ponds have been in existence since 1987 and occupy approximately 12 acres of the site land.
Administrative offices, which include DO’s and chief’s offices, occupy an area of 5 acres of the suit land.
Ongata Rongai playground and recreational field, also known as the locals’ stadium, occupies approximately 12 ½ acres of the suit land. It has been used as the local stadium, recreational area, and playground since the 1960s.
The Presbyterian Church of East Africa (PCEA) School Chapel was built in 2002 and serves the Secondary Schools on the site, occupying approximately half an acre of the land.
By Obegi Malack
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