NLC chair Mohamed Swazuri at a past event. Photo/ the-star.co.ke
When Dr Mohamed Swazuri was plucked from the lecture rooms of the then Mombasa Polytechnic University College to head the National Land Commission, few people gave him a chance to reform the thorny land sector in the country.A professional in land economics, Swazuri was expected to spearhead the reforms of land problems in the country considering his experience in the sector having taught in the university for years.However, five years down the line, the man who hails from Msambweni, Kwale County is on the brink of exiting the commission with his own commissioners turning against him.Swazuri's troubles with the NLC ballooned when former Journalist Mugo Njeru filed a petition seeking for his removal over claims that he received a Sh1.2 million bribe to process the compensation for the Standard Gauge Railway.Consequently, Swazuri was summed by the Parliamentary Committee on Land to shed light on the shoddy deals he was allegedly involved in, something he denied. However, his own NLC commissioners denied him saying he was carrying a one-man-show at the helm of the commissioners.To stop investigations against him, Swazuri rushed to court where he obtained temporary conservatory orders stopping parliament from probing him. However, parliament has dismissed the court order and has vowed to continue discussing the conduct of the man who has been in the public limelight for some time now.Whatever happens, the exit of Swazuri from NLC is a matter of when rather than if having had a controversial tenure at the helm of the institution which has been at loggerheads with the Ministry of Lands.