Fairview Investments says that on 3rd October 2024, an attempt to fence off the land was violently disrupted by a group of armed men who uprooted posts, loaded them onto the company’s vehicle, and ordered its workers to leave. The incident was reported at Marurui Police Station under OB No. 14/03/10/2024
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By The Weekly Vision Investigations Desk
The family of the late former Internal Security Minister, John Michuki, now wants Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja prosecuted for allegedly authorising the takeover of a family-owned piece of land situated along the Eastern Bypass in Nairobi. The takeover reportedly led to the destruction of a coffee plantation belonging to the family.
The contested land, registered under Fairview Investments Ltd, a family-owned company, was allegedly taken over by the Nairobi County Government in December last year on claims that it had been surrendered by the family for public use.
Through the law firm of Ngatia Wambugu and Company Advocates, Fairview Investments has written to Inspector General of Police Douglas Kanja, requesting an investigation into the takeover and dispossession of L.R. No. NAIROBI/BLOCK 219/32 and L.R. No. NAIROBI/BLOCK 219/33, and urging that Governor Sakaja, acting County Secretary Godfrey Akumali, and former Nairobi Regional Police Commander Adamson Bungei be prosecuted.
The company alleges that despite an Environment and Land Court order issued on 28th April 2024 directing that the status quo be maintained pending determination of the case, the county proceeded to occupy the land, constructing a slab to replace a container previously placed there.
Fairview Investments wants Governor Sakaja to be held personally liable for the destruction of its coffee farms. It notes that on 26th May, the Chief Officer for Lands, Cecilia Koigu, admitted in court that the governor authored a 20th December 2024 letter to Bungei seeking security to “protect” the land, which the county claimed belonged to it. Subsequently, county officials accessed the property, fenced it off, and placed a container on site.
The firm maintains it has been in possession of the land since 2011 and that there is no documentary evidence showing it was ever surrendered for public use. It further explains that upon conversion under the Land (Registration Units) Order, 2017, the two parcels became L.R. No. 17665/46 (Grant No. 136805) and L.R. No. 17665/47 (Grant No. 136806), as required under the Land Registration Act, 2012.
Fairview Investments says that on 3rd October 2024, an attempt to fence off the land was violently disrupted by a group of armed men who uprooted posts, loaded them onto the company’s vehicle, and ordered its workers to leave. The incident was reported at Marurui Police Station under OB No. 14/03/10/2024.
On 2nd March 2025, the company reportedly learnt that the county government intended to send officers to take over the land. A follow-up report was made under OB No. 09/21/03/2025. On 26th March, individuals claiming to act on the county’s authority, accompanied by police officers and official vehicles, attempted to access the property and install a container bearing the county’s insignia.
The individuals presented a letter dated 20th December 2024 from Sakaja’s office, signed by Akumali, requesting Bungei to provide security for the land “belonging to Nairobi City County.” Ironically, the letter also acknowledged that police had previously provided Fairview Investments with security during an earlier fencing exercise.
This is the second high-profile land dispute involving Governor Sakaja and the families of former senior government officials. Last year, the Environment and Land Court barred the governor from interfering with land owned by the late former Attorney-General James Karugu and his widow, Lucy Muthoni, near Fourways Junction on Kiambu Road.
In the Michuki family’s case, Fairview Investments insists it remains the registered owner with valid title deeds and has never surrendered the land. It accuses county officials of hiring men who cut down and carted away coffee trees from the farm, located next to the family’s Windsor Golf Hotel and Country Club.
The company adds that the Nairobi County Assembly Sectoral Committee on Land, Planning, and Housing carried out a survey on 21st January 2019, confirming Fairview as the legitimate title holder and a regular ratepayer. The committee, chaired by Alvin Palapala, was responding to a request by Roysambu MCA Sospeter Mumbi and revealed that the two parcels originated from the Mika Estate subdivision approved by the Town Planning Committee on 6th December 1990.
According to the committee’s findings, part of the estate was designated for commercial development, nursery and primary schools, with BLOCK 219/32 earmarked for a clinic and BLOCK 219/33 for commercial use. A letter dated 24th October 2024 by County Executive for Built Environment and Urban Development, Patrick Mbogo, to the National Land Commission reaffirmed the company’s ownership.
Fairview Investments accuses Sakaja, Akumali, Koigu, and Bungei of violating constitutional property rights and committing criminal offences, including trespass, theft, forcible entry, abuse of office, and aiding or abetting criminal acts. “Considering the totality of the foregoing, we hereby invite your good office to investigate the complaints herein and forward the findings to the Director of Public Prosecutions, who shall decide, according to the law, whether to charge the offenders,” the firm’s letter to the IG reads.
Speaking in an interview, lawyer Wambugu said the Constitution clearly defines private, public, and community land, and that in this case, there is no instrument of surrender. “The county claims the land was surrendered, yet there is no evidence of such. They have no authority, and since they acted without it, they should be personally liable,” Wambugu said. “That is why, through our complaint dated 15th October 2025, we have asked the Inspector General to investigate and recommend prosecution to the DPP.”
Legal experts say the case underscores the growing tension between county governments in the country and private landowners. As the matter awaits action from the Inspector General and the Director of Public Prosecutions, the outcome could set a significant precedent on the limits of county authority in matters of land acquisition and private ownership rights in Kenya.
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