National Land Commission (NLC) has upheld its decision to allow Weston Hotel to compensate KCAA for the disputed land, contrary to popular demolishing the multibillion shilling hotel – By Gerald Gekara and Agencies.
The aviation sector regulator has for long, sought to repossess the Weston Hotel land. The fight over the land comes after the KCAA filed a case at the Environment and Land Court, seeking to have the hotel demolished.
The land commission, however, proposed that the KCAA use money paid by Weston to acquire another parcel of land.
The controversial decision arose from an error by the KCAA’s decision to file a fresh suit in court instead of challenging a 2019 decision of the land commission.
These omissions and commissions attributed to the alleged allocation of the land to Priority Ltd and Monene Investments Ltd and subsequent transfer to Weston.
In the decision, the NLC recognized and emphasized that the KCAA’s entitlement to the parcel remained unchallenged and noted that Weston and initial owners Priority Limited and Monene Investments Limited, irregularly procured the registration of the land.
But the KCAA challenged the decision, arguing that instead of ordering restitution for the land the commission purported to give effect to the unlawfully acquired title.
KCB, who pumped 1 billion shillings in the investment, is adjoined to the case. The bank said it first provided Weston with a loan of Sh350 million in October 2014 and that the hotel took an additional loan of Sh700 million in July 2015.
KCB said it did a search with the Registrar of Land, who assured them that Weston was the registered proprietor of the land and that the title it held was genuine.
“At the time of registration, the interested party (KCB) did due diligence and fulfilled all prerequisites to the registration of the charge inland as required by law,” the bank said in documents filed in court.
The disputed public land had been acquired by the defunct Directorate of Civil Aviation (DCA) in the early 1990s for the construction of its headquarters.
Since its construction, Weston hotel has faced numerous court cases by the KCAA.
- – Courtesy Business Daily
