In a legal battle of substantial value, a prominent businessman has taken his case to court, contesting ownership of two land parcels worth Sh1.6 billion situated in Machakos County.
The dispute has arisen between the proprietors of Megvel Cartons Limited and Diesel Care Limited.
Engineer Joseph Odera, in his sworn affidavit, asserts that he acquired 9 hectares of land and subsequently entered into an agreement with Margaret Wamaitha Humphreys in this regard. Court documents reveal Odera’s claim that the Commissioner of Lands improperly allocated his property, culminating in the registration and issuance of a title to Diesel Care Limited, a move he deems illegal.
“The entire resultant title was illegally issued and is inferior to the petitioner’s title,” the court papers state.
Odera adds that when he purchased the land, it was designated as agricultural land, but he sought to change its land use to industrial purposes.
In 2008, he purportedly sold the property to Jewel Holdings with the requisite approval from the Ministry of Lands department. Subsequently, Odera successfully transferred the property to Jewel.
However, in 2009, Jewel Holdings reportedly transferred the contested property to Megvel Cartons Limited, which later initiated development on the land, a move that received approval from the Commissioner of Lands.
Odera contends that due to alleged illegality and fraudulent actions by the Commissioner of Lands, facilitated by the Director of Survey, the property was reassigned to a third party, which subsequently transferred it to Diesel Care Limited.
The engineer argues that during his ownership, the land in question was unavailable for allocation, emphasizing that “where land has been allocated, the same land cannot be reallocated unless the first allocation is validly and lawfully canceled,” as stated in the court documents.
