The Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) has seized Sh1.2 billion in stolen land on Chale Island in Kwale County.
The Environment and Land Court ordered that all records connected to the issuing of titles for the seized land on Chale Island be cancelled.
The land in question is a national monument and marine reserve that was illegally handed to private developers in Kinondo ward, Msambweni constituency, Kwale district. According to locals, the marine reserve also contains traditional shrines that protect the Kaya community’s cultural identity.
The Sh1.2 billion property had been divided into 49 plots and fake title deeds issued.
In her judgement dated 2 October 2023, Environment and Land Court Judge Justice Addreya Dena set aside all transactions relating to the illegal transfer of part of Chale Island to private individuals.
The court ordered the cancellation of all title deeds and the return of the land to the government. A permanent injunction has also been granted against the perpetrators, preventing them from taking possession of, entering, developing, transferring or even leasing the 49 plots of land recovered within the island.
Some plots in Diani, Kisite Mpunguti, Tiwi and even Gombato are also said to be illegally owned, and the EACC says 32,000 acres of land in Chenze have also been grabbed.
