It has now emerged that the Government didn't follow the laid down procedures in acquiring the controversial parcel of land in Ruaraka.
Lands Cabinet Secretary Farida Karoney on Monday while appearing before the Senate Public Accounts Committee said that the Government through the Ministry of Education under Dr Fred Matiang'i, and the National Land Commission under the leadership of Mohammed Swazuri could have done better before paying Sh1.5 billion to the land owners; Huelands and Afrison Export company.
“I can’t say whether the payments or acquisitions were irregular but due process was not followed by the government, we could have done better,” the CS said.
According to CS Karoney, as it stands now, the 96-acre piece of land on which Ruaraka High and Drive Inn Primary schools sit on does not belong to the government.
"The government cannot claim advance possession of private land before purchasing it. This should not be allowed to happen. You either own it or not," Karoney said.
The controversial land is further linked to the General Service Unit (GSU) and Kenyan Urban Roads Authority (KURA) as revealed by a report from the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) following a probe on the land.
"The Kenya Urban Roads Authority (KURA) through the National Land Commission (NLC) has so far made payments of Sh1.4 billion to Afrison Import Export and Heulands Ltd, the proprietors of LR 7879/4. The proprietors are currently seeking a further compensation of Sh2.182 billion," the commission outlined in its submissions to the committee.