A serious land compensation scandal has erupted in Kenya, involving powerful government officials and lawyers. Among those named in the scandal are Lands Principal Secretary Nixon Korir and Narok South MP Kitilai Ole Ntutu.
They are accused of stealing Sh2.7 billion that was meant to pay landowners who were displaced to make way for the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) terminus.The scandal came to light after 184 landowners, who belong to the Settlement Welfare Scheme, filed a petition in court through their lawyer, Prof PLO Lumumba.
They claim that the money that was supposed to go to them was instead taken by corrupt officials and sent through law firms they never approved.
As reported by Nation Africa, the landowners had chosen Letangule & Co. Advocates to handle the compensation process. However, the money was secretly diverted to two law firms they did not know Sankale & Co. Advocates and Johnson and Partners LLP.
This move raised many questions about how the government handled the compensation funds.
According to documents filed in court, Nixon Korir got involved in the land title process in 2023. He allegedly promised to help speed up the issuance of land titles for 93 acres.
But instead of helping the landowners, the petitioners say they were forced to give up 38 acres to get their titles. Later, they discovered that their chosen lawyers had been illegally removed and replaced with others who acted against their interests.
The landowners also claim that they were pushed to open new accounts at Kenya Commercial Bank. They now believe this was part of the plan to hide where the money was going. On December 16, 2023, Kenya Railways released Sh2.75 billion through Johnson and Partners LLP without telling the landowners.
This was a major red flag.What is most painful for the affected families is that while the government released Sh2.75 billion, they received only a small portion of the money less than Sh250 million in total.
Some individuals got as little as Sh50,000, while others received up to Sh2 million. But this is still far below what they were supposed to get. The rest of the money was allegedly shared among top government officials, including Nixon Korir, and the involved law firms.
The petitioners are now demanding a full investigation into the matter. They want the stolen money recovered and those involved punished. Legal proceedings are still ongoing, and the pressure on the authorities to act is growing.
The case has shocked many Kenyans and raised fresh concerns about corruption in land compensation projects.
The actions of Nixon Korir and others involved have left a deep wound among affected communities and damaged public trust in the government’s handling of compensation funds.
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