Residential Projects

EAPCC Agrees to Sell Sh27bn Land to Squatters for Sh8bn

The squatters have been living on the land since 2010.

Updated on

January 24, 2022

Workers arrange bags of cement at the EAPCC factory in Athi River. PHOTO | FILE

The East African Portland Cement Company (EAPCC) has agreed to sell 1,331 acres of land in Athi River, Machakos County, to thousands of squatters living on the land, in a highly discounted real estate deal valued at Sh8.3 billion.

The land was invaded by squatters in 2010, upon the announcement of the intention by EAPCC to dispose of the property, and they have been coercing the firm to sell the land at a throwaway price, which has created a ferocious conflict between the two.

Indeed, so determined have been the squatters that they have previously approached an unnamed investor who deposited Sh1 billion to the cement company as a commitment fee.

EAPCC declined the offer and instead resorted to violence and brutal evictions.

However, after 11 years of conflict amid intense lobbying and negotiations by the squatters and local leaders, the firm has agreed to sell the land to the intruders.

Sh20 million

According to the terms of the deal, an acre of land will be sold at Sh6.25 million – a steep discount from the market value of about Sh20 million per acre.

The squatters will be required to pay the size value of the plot occupied within three years, after which they will be granted a title deed.

“We are looking forward to engaging Portland Cement leadership so that we renegotiate the payment period. All members living here are committed to paying the required amount,” Joyce Mweni, one of the representatives, said on Sunday.

The deal comes barely two years after EAPCC surrendered 745 acres to the Kenya Commercial Bank to avoid losing its property to auctioneers.

The land had been used to secure a Sh3.3 billion loan from the lender, a debt that had ballooned to Sh6.6 billion – attracting Sh600 million in interest annually.

In September 2019, company shareholders voted to allow the disposal of 2,076 acres to pay the debt and make some money to keep the business afloat.

EAPCC did not find a buyer, even after announcing a sale price of Sh4.8 million per acre, down from the then-average price of Sh14.8 million per acre.

After running out of patience, KCB threatened to auction off the company, forcing it to surrender the property for disposal.