The land on which Mombasa port’s new container terminal berths number 19 and 21 stand was acquired for millions of shillings from a private developer in spite of the land having been the property of Kenya Ports Authority.
The Port Reiz plot number 2388 was initially owned by a Mr Karuri, a former supplies officer at KPA. The plot was then bought from Karuri by Kenya Ports Authority and then leased to Kobil Oil Company for 10 years.
After the expiry of the lease, the land was taken back by Kenya Ports Authority. But after a short while, a certain private company erected a signboard on the plot, proclaiming that it was private property.
After some years, Kenya Ports Authority was in need of land for the construction of berth 19 and 21 (new terminal). It was during this time that the same plot/land was resold to KPA by the same private company for millions of shillings.
Sources at KPA’s legal department say this land transaction is just a tip of the iceberg as there are many similar questionable land transactions taking place in the company almost daily.
Only last week, we reported how a KPA land in Mombasa Island was used as collateral by a Tanzanian company to receive millions of shillings from a local bank.
The KPA board allowed a privately owned company registered in the Republic of Tanzania to use a title deed for one of its prime plots in Mombasa to obtain a bank loan of nearly Sh100 million.
Plot no MSA/BLK1/254 measuring 3.07 acres at Shimanzi was leased to a private firm for 33 years with effect from January 1, 1989 for Sh1,335,450 per year before the firm transferred the lease to another firm for Sh1,842,000 per year.
The new tenant, a company incorporated in the Republic of Tanzania used the land as collateral to get hundreds of millions from EcoBank Limited.
The TZ firm is now the registered proprietor of the leasehold interest which includes all buildings, fixtures, developments and improvements.
The KPA Act Cap 391 sec 19(5) prohibits charging of authority’s property by way of security for borrowed money.
