The Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) has secured a major victory after the Environment and Land Court in Nairobi ordered the recovery of 7.11 hectares of Karura Forest land valued at Sh2.8 billion that had been illegally taken by Gigiri Court Limited.
The ruling, delivered on October 23, 2025, by Justice David Mwangi, declared that the title deed for the property—Nairobi Block 91/386, was null and void, effectively returning the land to public ownership.
The court determined that the property, initially set aside for the Kenya Technical Teachers College (KTTC) and forming part of Karura Forest, was unlawfully acquired through fraudulent dealings involving the late former Cabinet Minister John Joseph Kamotho and two former Commissioners of Lands.
According to EACC, the case was first lodged in 2007 by its predecessor, the Kenya Anti-Corruption Commission (KACC), following investigations that revealed how public forest land had been irregularly transferred and subdivided.
“Investigations by EACC established that Nairobi Block 91/130 (approximately 0.566 hectares) was reserved for KTTC, while an additional 2.50 hectares was illegally hived from Karura Forest and allocated to Kamotho,” the Commission said.
EACC further stated that Kamotho later registered the land under Gigiri Court Limited and sold the company, along with the property, to Mandip Singh Amrit and Manjit Singh Amrit for Sh6 million.
The transactions paved the way for further encroachment on the forest, with a private survey leading to the unlawful excision of another 3.8 hectares. This created Nairobi Block 91/386, for which an illegal lease was issued on September 6, 1995, by the then Commissioner of Lands, Wilson Gacanja.
In his ruling, Justice Mwangi affirmed that “the Certificate of Lease issued to Gigiri Court Limited was null and void and could not confer a valid title to private persons.” He further held that the land allocation “was contrary to the Forest Act and the Government Lands Act,” confirming that the property remained public land under government protection.
The court also held Gacanja and former Commissioner of Lands James Raymond Njenga personally liable for their unlawful and irregular actions. Justice Mwangi stressed that the principle of first registration does not protect property acquired illegally, citing Article 40(6) of the Constitution, which excludes unlawfully obtained land from constitutional protection.
Following the ruling, EACC welcomed the decision as a major step in the fight against illegal land acquisition and the protection of public property. The Commission said the recovered land “now reverts to the public and remains public property.”
EACC also pointed to its wider asset recovery drive, noting that in the past year alone, it had filed over 80 suits seeking to recover assets worth about Sh4.8 billion.
“The Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission reaffirms its commitment to recovering corruptly acquired public property and ensuring that such assets are restored for the benefit of all Kenyans,” said EACC Secretary and Chief Executive Officer Abdi A. Mohamud.
The ruling marks one of the most consequential victories in the Commission’s ongoing efforts to reclaim public assets lost to corruption and land grabbing, reinforcing the judiciary’s stance that no title can stand if founded on illegality.
