NATIONAL LAND COMMISSION V. THERESIA RUNJI, MARIETA GITONGA CHEGE, NAOMI KIIO, SAMMY M. KARA & MIRITINI FREE PORT LIMITED

RULING THE COURT

The applicant, is under the Land Act, empowered to compulsorily acquire land for public use and pay compensation to the affected property owners. Pursuant to this mandate, the applicant compulsorily acquired 22.11 Ha of plot No. MN/VI/4805 “the suit property”, then wholly registered in the name of the 5^th respondent for the construction of the Mombasa – Nairobi Standard Gauge Railway, and a compensation of Kshs. 1,475,486,845 was paid to the 5^th respondent.

Later the 1^st to 4^th respondents filed Mombasa Constitutional Petition No. 17 of 2018 against the applicant alleging infringement of their property rights. That in the year 2000 they were issued with letters of allotment for the suit property. They therefore sought compensation from the applicant for compulsorily acquiring it.

The applicant denied the 1^st to 4^th respondents’ claim to the suit property. It averred that it had compulsorily acquired the suit property from the 5^th respondent who was the registered owner a…