By Michelle Ndaga
The Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) has successfully recovered a prime government property valued at KSh35 million that had been illegally acquired and developed by a private individual next to the Bungoma State Lodge.
In a landmark judgment delivered on October 9, 2025, Justice Enock Cherono of the Bungoma Environment and Land Court ruled that all transactions leading to the acquisition of the land, Bungoma Township/169, were fraudulent, illegal, null and void.
The half-acre parcel, reserved for senior public officers since 1961, is owned by the Ministry of State Department for Housing and Urban Development.

The court further ordered the eviction of Ms. Judy Nekoye, who had demolished a government house on the property and built a multimillion-shilling maisonette. Justice Cherono also nullified the Certificate of Lease, directing the Bungoma Land Registrar to cancel all irregular entries related to the parcel.
According to EACC’s investigations, the land was irregularly allocated in 2004 to Mr. Charles Nyasani and Ms. Scolastica Nyakerario, who later transferred it to Nekoye in 2016. Nekoye’s petition to be declared the legal owner was dismissed after the court found overwhelming evidence of fraud.
In his ruling, Justice Cherono declared the 2002 and 2016 leases fraudulently obtained and therefore incapable of conferring any ownership rights, reaffirming the government’s title to the property.
EACC welcomed the judgment, saying it reinforces efforts to reclaim stolen public assets. The Commission disclosed that it is currently pursuing 16 other prime public properties in Bungoma believed to have been illegally acquired.
The anti-graft agency also urged Kenyans to conduct due diligence when purchasing land to avoid financial losses arising from transactions involving illegally obtained public property.