The Ethics and Anti‑Corruption Commission (EACC) has successfully recovered public land worth Sh25 million that was illegally allocated for private use along Machakos Road, an access route to the University of Nairobi Mombasa campus.

Investigations revealed that the parcel, identified as Mombasa Municipality/Block XIX/305, was unlawfully excised from the road reserve and allotted to the late Ezekiel Luyali, then a municipal councillor, in 1994.

The probe also implicated former Town Clerk David Kalume Randu and former Mayor Ahmed Mwidhani for facilitating the irregular allocation, which was formalised by a lease dated 1 September 1994 and registered the following day.

EACC filed the case in the Mombasa Law Courts, and on 24 September the Environment and Land Court ruled that the parcel formed part of a road reserve and that the 1994 alienation was illegal and fraudulent.

The judgment highlighted procedural failures, noting the absence of Gazette notices, an approved Part Development Plan, council resolutions, or ministerial consent required under the Local Government Act for closing a road.

Consequently, the court declared the 1994 lease and the associated Survey Plan Folio Register (F/R) No. 264/37 null and void, ordering the Chief Land Registrar and the Director of Surveys to cancel the entries and expunge the plan.

A permanent injunction was also issued, restraining the former leaseholder, his agents and successors from any further dealing with the property, including sale, lease or transfer.

The judge reiterated that public land reserved for public use must be managed strictly according to law and cannot be converted to private ownership through unlawful allocation.

Following the ruling, the EACC called on all public officers and institutions responsible for public land to adhere to legal mandates and protect public resources.