Shock as ‘Land Mafia’ Grabs 500,000 Acres of State Land

A “land mafia” has seized 500,000 acres of government land in Kilifi and Tana River counties in a shocking fiasco that has shone a light on the daring corrupt practices of land fraudsters.

According to the Agricultural Development Corporation (ADC), unscrupulous land sellers have encroached and annexed its Sh25 billion worth of property in a scheme aimed at deceiving Kenyans that the State agency is selling its land.

Speaking to the press at the ADC farm in Sabaki, Malindi, Richard Ngomo, a director of ADC, said the agency has noted encroachment of its land mainly within the 1.75 million-acre Galana and Kulalu ranches in Kilifi and Tana River.

“ADC land is not for sale. (We) have not given out any land, especially in the Coast region, for sale,” Mr Ngomo said, adding that ADC will protect its land at all costs.

This comes in the wake of media reports that point out just how people have been flocking to Malindi and Magarini in buses to buy cheap land, some of which belong to the ADC.

The land is going for between Sh5,000 and Sh10,000 per acre.

Members of the public wishing to buy land have been advised to demand to be provided with coordinates or a cadastral map with geo-referencing overlaid with neighbouring cadastral plans before buying any piece of land.

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“Compare the prices (with that of the neighbours) and also tell the seller to give you the details of the licensed surveyor who surveyed the land,” Mr Ngomo said.

Land-grabbing cases have been on the rise in many parts of the country, most of which are staged by a cartel with a membership of government officials, land surveyors, brokers, and lawyers who ‘legalise’ cases of fraud in land dealings.

Quite often, rogue brokers scout for chunks of undeveloped land – whether owned by the government or private entities and then collude with land officials and surveyors to subdivide the property before selling it off to unsuspecting buyers.

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There is also a cartel that grabs private and public property and moots cunning ways of selling it off in the name of resettling squatters.

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

The squatters, who invaded the Sh27 billion ranch in 2010 after EAPCC announced plans to dispose of the property, have been coercing the company to sell the land to them at a throwaway price, sparking a conflict between the two parties.

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