Lands Cabinet Secretary Alice Wahome has ordered the surrender of an 8-acre land in Loresho to its owner, Ashok Kumar.

The CS issued a 24-hour ultimatum to the Gigiri OCPD to remove unknown occupants of the land who attempted to restrict entry to the parcel during the CS' visit. 

PHOTO | COURTESY CS Wahome

For a brief period, the Cabinet Secretary found herself in uncharted territory, confined within a plot of land in Loresho with the land's owner, Ashok Kumar, and his lawyer, Suleiman Bashir.

She had gone to ensure the owner of the 8-acre plot of land, who was locked out of his home.

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Security agencies captured the individual who locked the gate, forced him to break the padlock, and apprehended him. The CS issued security agencies a 24-hour deadline to remove all unauthorized occupants of the land.

PHOTO | COURTESY Ashok Kumar

“I will now direct the OCPD for Gigiri Police Station to carry out an immediate operation not later than tomorrow noon, to remove any person within the premises of this land. After noon midday tomorrow, any other person who then comes including the people employed to hold this land forcefully, must be arrested if they are still on this land,” Wahome said.

The land was subject to protracted legal fights for over a decade. The High Court ruled in 2022 that Ashok Kumar is the owner.

However, he was barred from accessing his property and informed of another owner, former Nairobi Provincial Commissioner Davis Nathan Chelogoi. When the office of the chief land registrar summoned both parties, Chelogoi was absent; the registrar decided that Ashok and Hitten Kumar were the legitimate land owners.

After Chelogoi failed to appear in court for plea taking, the High Court issued an arrest warrant for him and Assistant Deputy Director at the Lands Administration Office Andrew Aseri Kirungu, who were jointly accused of conspiracy to defraud a plot of land valued at Ksh.1.35 billion.