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Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua is the legitimate owner of a Sh1.5 billion disputed property in Nairobi, a senior official at the Ministry of Lands told the High Court yesterday.

The Director of Land Administration at the Ministry of Lands Gordon Odeka Ochieng told High Court judge Justice Joseph Mboya the title deed held by Gachagua’s company, Wamunyoro Investments Ltd, is genuine and forms part of the Land Registry’s records.

While being led in his evidence in chief by State Counsel Allan Kamau from the Attorney General’s office, the title was issued in 2012 after he followed all the due process to acquire the land.

“I want to confirm the rightful owner of the land is Wamunyoro Investment Limited as according to the ministry record it followed all the procedures in acquiring the land,” Ochieng told the judge.

The witness told the court that land was first allocated to Columbus Two Thousand Limited, a firm owned by Micheal Ohas, a retired civil servant in 1994.

Gachagua and Ohas, a former Director of Physical Planning in the Ministry of Lands are fighting over the ownership of the land situated near Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA).

According to Ochieng, the land which measures two hectares was allocated for a term of 99 years with effect from February, 1994 to Ohas’s firm based on a Part Development Plan number 42/14/93/14 prepared by the Department of Physical Planning.

“The records held at the ministry of Land office indicate that Columbus Two Thousand Limited was allocated an unsurveyed industrial plot by the then Commissioner of Lands, vide letter ref. 88767/IV/142 dated February 2,1994,” Ochieng told the judge.

The official stated that according to the letter of allotment issued to Columbus limited it had certain conditions to be compiled with before the land was officially transferred to them.

One of the conditions was related to the stand premier amounting to a total of Sh863,400, where the court was informed that the company did not pay.

“The part of the conditions contained in the Letter of Allotment was that if acceptance and payment respectively are not received within the said thirty days from the date hereof, the offer herein contained will be considered to have lapsed,” Ochieng told the judge.

He stated from the time when the Letter of Allotment was issued on February 3, 1994 Columbus Limited did not accept the offer neither did they make formal payment of the amounts stipulated in the Letter of Allotment until May 7, 1996 when they wrote to the Commissioner of Lands and accepted the offer of allotment.

Ochieng added that by the time the partial payment was being made, the offer of allotment to Columbus Two Thousand Limited had lapsed and the land reverted to the Government as this was more than two years from the date the stand premium was to be paid.

“ Failure to pay this within 30 days by Columbus meant the offer lapsed. This means the land was free to be allocated to a third parties,” Ochieng stated.

The court heard after the land was reverted part to the state, the same was later allocated to Karandi Farm Limited. Peter N Mbugua and Pauline Muringe in 1999.

“By this time, the land had already been surveyed and there existed a deed plan for that land. After it was allocated to the three, there were conditions just like the first time to be met,” Ochieng said.

The court heard that Karandi Farm Limited, Mbugua and Muringe were to pay a Stand Premium of Sh672,306 as per the letter of allotment. This was also to paid within a specified period.

“ l confirm that the amount was paid on December 18, 2002 by the three and an official receipt was issued thereafter was issued by the Commissioner of Lands,” the court heard.

Following the payment, a Title in respect of LR. 209/12077 was later processed by the Commissioner of Lands and the said grant was registered at the Land Titles Registry at Nairobi as IR 90923 on December 31, 2002.

Ochieng said that the three later transferred the suit property to Gachagua’s company -Wamunyoro Investments Limited- on June 2012.