EACC triumphs in 12-year legal fight to reclaim grabbed Nyali road reserve
The agency reaffirmed its resolve to pursue all illegally acquired public property and recover it for the actual owners—the people of Kenya.
Justice Kibunja ruled that the distribution of the title deed, which is registered as MN/I/9816, to the late Sheikh Ali Taib, was illegal and void ab initio. Photo/courtesy
By Ruth Sang
The Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) has reclaimed a public land plot valued at approximately Sh30 million in Nyali, Mombasa, bringing to a close a protracted 12-year court battle over the irregular allocation of a road reserve.
The contested land, measuring about 0.13 hectares, had been reserved for the expansion of Links Road near 1st Avenue but was illegally alienated to private individuals nearly 30 years ago. The recent ruling returns the property to public ownership, protecting it once again for its intended purpose of road development and maintenance.
The decision, delivered on October 22, 2025, by Mombasa Environment and Land Court Judge S. M. Kibunja, was a landslide victory for the EACC in its continued effort to recover public property lost to corruption and irregular land deals. Justice Kibunja ruled that the distribution of the title deed, which is registered as MN/I/9816, to the late Sheikh Ali Taib, was illegal and void ab initio.
The court ordered the Land Registrar of Mombasa to revoke the fraudulent title deed and amend the records of land to rezone the plot as public land. The ruling indicated that the land was set aside for road infrastructure and could not have been privatized in any way.
According to the EACC’s findings, the land was illegally allocated on 19th January 1996 by the then Commissioner of Lands without following any legal process or receiving any legal application. The land was irregularly demarcated, alienated, and leased for a period of 99 years to a Shaibu Hamisi Mgandi.
It was only two months later on 15th March 1996 that Mgandi was allocated (CR No. 28222) the land. He subsequently sold the land to Sheikh Ali Taib, to whom it belonged until his death. EACC established that the transaction was purely fraudulent since the land was public property reserved for future road widening by the then defunct Mombasa Municipal Council.
The Commission hailed the decision, stating that not only does it restore a vital public utility but also deepens the rule of law in the management of public land. The agency reaffirmed its resolve to pursue all illegally acquired public property and recover it for the actual owners—the people of Kenya.
This is yet another addition to the list of successful recoveries made by the EACC in recent months as it intensifies its attack on land grabbing, particularly in urban areas where road reserves and public facilities have been illegally converted into private ownership.
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