The Acting Managing Director of Kenya Broadcasting Corporation (KBC), Samuel Maina, has expressed concern about the ownership of the land on which the national broadcaster’s headquarters is located, opposite the Norfolk Hotel in Nairobi, after an audit report revealed that the land is not registered in KBC’s name, casting doubt on its ownership.
Maina revealed this information in Parliament while testifying before the Public Investments Committee on Social Services Administration and Agriculture.
The committee wanted to know who owned the 40 parcels of land owned by the State Corporation and why only eight title deeds had been acquired.
The committee chair, Navakholo MP Emanuel Wangwe, expressed concern about the lack of titles and the uncertain ownership status of KBC’s land, stating that these revelations posed a threat to government land.
In response to questions from the committee, Maina assured lawmakers that KBC is actively working to secure titles for many of its land parcels. He stated that certain parcels of land, such as Jamuhuri, Meru, and Nyambene, are already well secured, with fencing and police protection.
However, he acknowledged that KBC is currently involved in land ownership disputes with squatters who have encroached on their 23-acre and 1200-acre land parcels in Nyali and Komarock, respectively.
Maina also mentioned a legal battle with Housing Finance over the Sauti House land in Mombasa, which was sold to them in part.
When asked about land utilisation, Maina explained that KBC had been leasing parcels of land in Kitale for agricultural activities at a rate of Kshs 12,000 per acre, as well as in Morania in Meru County at a rate of Kshs 38,000 per acre.
The parliamentary committee also inquired about KENGEN’s failure to return generators worth Kshs 29 million that had been loaned by KBC. In response, Maina stated that the Corporation’s board of directors had approved a loan write-off. The committee, however, challenged this decision, citing the Public Procurement and Management (Pfm) Act’s requirement for National Treasury approval for a write-off.
As a result, the committee requested that Maina return to KBC’s Board of Management for further clarification on these issues.
