A section of Kaumoni Township in Makueni County. The county government has sued a man claiming ownership of the land that the township sits on.
Uncertainty has gripped traders at Kaumoni Township in Makueni County after a longstanding dispute over the ownership of a three-acre plot where it stands ended up in court.
Makueni Governor Mutula Kilonzo Junior’s administration has taken Henry Mwongela, a neighbour of Kaumoni Township, to court over the ownership of the plot, which he claims as his.
The land in question is identified as Ukia/Kaumoni/75.
Justice Elijah Obaga of the Environment and Land Court sitting in Makueni County has set July 29 as the start of the hearing of the case against Mr Mwongela. Apart from holding the title deed to the disputed parcel of land, Mr Mwongela is also the administrator of the estate of his father, Samuel Kinyili Nzou.
According to documents filed in court, Ukia/Kaumoni/75 measures 1.7 acres. However, the suit claims Kaumoni Township has, over the years, expanded and annexed 1.4 acres of the neighbouring plot identified as Ukia/Kaumoni/76. A 2023 valuation filed in court by Mr Mwongela values the disputed parcel at Sh11.5 million.
A section of Kaumoni Township in Makueni County. The county government has sued a man claiming ownership of the land that the township sits on.
Makueni County Attorney Stanley Nthiwa has sued Mr Mwongela alongside Priscilla Mueni, the widow of Mr Mwongela’s late brother; the Registrar of Lands in Makueni County, Roselyn Soo; and the Attorney General, Dorcas Oduor. They are listed as the second, third, and fourth defendants respectively.
Mr Nthiwa accuses Mr Mwongela of fraudulently acquiring the title deed to Ukia/Kaumoni/75. In court documents seen by the Nation, he wants the court to compel Mr Mwongela to unconditionally surrender the entire parcel of land where Kaumoni Township stands.
Interestingly, Ms Soo — whose office played a key role in issuing the title deed — has since disowned Mr Mwongela’s claim.
“The third and fourth defendants confirm that the suit property was reserved for Kaumoni Market under the Makueni County Council during a land adjudication exercise in 1975. It is not clear how the suit property was registered in the name of Samuel Kinyili Nzou. Records show that it belongs to the Makueni County government and not the first and second defendants. The third and fourth defendants wish to state that an error might have occurred during the preparation of the titles, which is highly regretted and unintentional,” the Registrar of Lands said through Lydia Lung’u, a State Counsel.
Mr Mwongela has, however, denied the allegations of fraud in acquiring the parcel. He says in court papers that the land belonged to his late father, Mzee Kinyili.
He states that during the 1975 land adjudication, the defunct Makueni County Council allocated plots to investors in the disputed area after expressing interest in plot Ukia/Kaumoni/75, citing the proposed market’s proximity to Kaumoni Catholic Mission and Kaumoni Secondary School. Over the years, this has become a vibrant market with shops, restaurants, and posho mills.
To build a strong case against Governor Kilonzo Jnr’s administration, Mr Mwongela has enlisted the support of an octogenarian, who claims he was among the elders who guided government officials during the 1975 land survey.
“The disputed parcel of land belongs to Mzee Kinyili. He expected the Makueni County Council to buy the land from him to set up a market. However, the council maintained it could not spend money on a parcel of land without a title deed,” says Mzee John Luvai Kisilu in a sworn affidavit.
Years after Mzee Kinyili died, Mr Mwongela acquired the title deed to the disputed land in 2019 — in his father's name — and subsequently transferred it to himself through succession.
Mr Mwongela maintains that the acquisition of the title deed was legitimate.
“The process of titling and subsequent registration of the suit property in the name of Samuel Kinyili Nzou was regular and based on correct records that existed at the third defendant’s offices. The third defendant could not have produced and registered a title in respect of the suit property in the absence of records declaring it to belong to the late Samuel Kinyili Nzou,” Mr Mwongela said in an August 21, 2024 statement through his lawyer, Sichangi Nyongesa.
The ownership tussle over Kaumoni Township is now expected to derail the ongoing tarmacking of the Tawa–Itangini Road, which cuts through the area.
