House wants KAA to shield airports from land grabbers

Lawmakers at Parliament Buildings. PHOTO | JEFF ANGOTE | NMG

Parliament wants the Kenya Airports Authority (KAA) to secure 85 parcels of land whose ownership is in dispute in seven airports and airstrips to prevent grabbing before the contention over their title deeds is resolved.

The Public Investments Committee (PIC) cited a piece of land belonging to the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA), which has 46 title deeds in dispute, saying the failure to secure the land exposes it to loss to illegal occupiers.

The MPs said the National Land Commission (NLC), following its inquiries of titles within the JKIA, recommended revocation of the titles, through a gazette notice dated February 15, 2019.

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Other airports and airstrips facing similar hurdles include Wilson Airport with eight titles in contention, Moi International Airport Mombasa (10), Kisumu International Airport (three), Kitale airstrip (two), Eldoret airstrip (13), Malindi Airport (one) and Embakasi (two).

The committee noted, however, that the KAA management did not provide details on the nature of the disputes and the value of the land involved as well as the parties involved and the status of the same.

“It was also not possible to confirm if there are other parcels of land with disputes and the exposure these may have on authority’s claim to the land,” Mvita MP Abdulswamad Nassir, who chairs the committee, said in a report on the audit of State corporations.

“Though management indicated that it had been following on the matter with a view to securing ownership documents, much needed to be done especially putting caveats and fencing to ensure that the said land was not encroached [on].”

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The committee said the subject parcels of land at Moi International Airport were allocated before the issuance of the KAA’s title and do not form part of the net area measuring 538.76 hectares.

At the Kisumu International Airport, the three irregular allocations did not form part of the Kisumu Municipality Block hived off to create the airport, and were thus outside the current airport title.

The committee said the KAA had paid for searches to confirm the registration of the subject parcels at Eldoret Airstrip and was awaiting the outcome.

At the Malindi Airport, PIC said the irregular allocations form part of Malindi Airport’s main title and as such have been included in the financial statements.

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