NAIROBI, Kenya, Feb 29 – Members of Parliament have directed the Ministry of Lands to furnish them with Kenyatta International Conference Center (KICC) title deeds following plans mooted to grab a section of the conference center.
The Public Investments Commercial Affairs and Energy committee issued the Cabinet Secretary for Lands with a one-month ultimatum following the suspicion.
An Auditor General Report had indicated that the National Government is not the owner of the parcel of land.
Letter correspondences between the National Land Commission and Nairobi County exposed the plan to redesign and allocate COMESA grounds, part of KICC land to private entities.
COMESA grounds lie between Supreme Court building, Parliament Road and City Hall way with suspicion being raised whether officials in the Ministry of Land, National Land Commission and cartels had colluded to grab the parcel of land.
Appearing before the watchdog committee, Land Cabinet Secretary Alice Wahome allayed the fears that the land was being grabbed adding there’s no dispute over the land.
“I also want to assure the committee that the remaining land popularly known as COMESA ground is secure, I have not seen any records to show that it has been sub divided, the land is safe,” she said.
The Lands Cabinet Secretary asserted that the government is working to secure the historical public land following similar plans by cartels seeking to grab the land sitting on Garden Square Limited.
“Garden square is actually a toilet by design, and it’s part of the land that we are talking about, making an application to own the land does not mean it will be automatic they will own the land, I think we are okay, and we need to complete this process,” Wahome stated.
The main question by the lawmakers was how NLC concluded that the land was vested in the county government and not the national government.
MPs also questioned how KICC can only hold the title for the tower but not the Comesa grounds – including Garden Square, the courtyard where the Jomo Kenyatta monument stands and the portion next to the MFA offices.
The Committee Chair David Pkosing issued an order halting any activities regarding to the land in question for the next one month until the Ministry of Lands submits the title deed.
“The one month the committee is giving you, come with the tittle of KICC, or at least come and show us the processes that are going on, and there must not be two sub divisions of the land,” he said.
KICC falls under the national government.This is after it emerged that NLC had written to the county government as the vesting authority for the land, where Garden Square restaurant and Comesa parking lot sit.
This means the county government holds the power to decide who is allocated the land.