KANU Loses Grip on KICC as High Court Nullifies Title Deed

The High Court in Milimani has declared that the government holds the rightful ownership of the land upon which the Kenyatta International Convention Center (KICC) in Nairobi is built.

In her ruling, Justice Jacqueline Mogeni asserts that the Kenya African National Union (Kanu) had acquired the land through illegal and unlawful means. Consequently, the court has nullified the title previously held by Kanu and officially recognized the Ministry of Tourism as the legitimate owner of the property. The KICC, a prominent landmark in the heart of Nairobi, has been the subject of a protracted legal dispute between Kanu and the government. Kanu, the political party that led Kenya to independence had long claimed ownership of the building, maintaining that the commissioner of lands had allocated the land to them in May 1969.

However, Justice Mogeni’s decisive ruling has now resolved the matter in the government’s favour. During the proceedings, Justice Mogeni scrutinized the allocation process, specifically questioning how the late President Daniel Arap Moi was granted the land without proper surveying and designation for public use. She highlights Kanu’s failure to provide evidence detailing the procedure through which public land was alienated and subsequently allocated to the Chairman of a political party. Moreover, Justice Mogeni emphasizes that the commissioner of lands lacked the authority to transfer the property in question to Kanu.

The legal battle commenced in 2020 when Kanu filed a case before the Environment and Land Court seeking to reassert its claim to the KICC based on the purported allocation of the land in 1969. However, Justice Mogeni’s ruling has now conclusively established the Ministry of Tourism as the rightful titleholder, effectively terminating Kanu’s longstanding ownership claim.