The National Assembly’s Public Investments Committee (PIC) has uncovered revelations about how public land, initially designated for the expansion of Malindi Airport, ended up in the hands of a church and a jet fuel depot operated by Vivo Energy. Kenya Airports Authority (KAA) officials were hard-pressed to explain how they lost the contentious parcel of land.
On Tuesday, May 13, 2025, during a hearing of the PIC’s Commercial Affairs and Energy Committee, members voiced their frustrations over the Kenya Airports Authority (KAA) and the National Land Commission (NLC) for their mishandling of the disputed.
The land, initially allocated to the National Oil Corporation (NOC), has changed ownership multiple times, with its latest occupiers being a church and a fuel depot, despite the land’s designation for the stalled airport expansion project.
Pokot South Member of Parliament Hon. David Pkosing, who chairs the PIC, led a grilling of top officials from KAA and NLC over audit queries spanning the 2018/2019 to 2021/2022 financial years.
KAA Land Ownership
The committee was shocked to learn that the NLC, despite being tasked with overseeing public land, does not have the legal authority to revoke irregular land titles or enforce evictions.
NLC CEO Kabale Tache confirmed that the commission’s role is limited to issuing recommendations, with the Chief Land Registrar holding the final say in land ownership disputes.
Also Read: More Than 30 Estates to Go Without Water for 6 Hours
The revelation sent shockwaves through the committee, as they questioned how KAA could claim ownership of the land in its asset register, given the ongoing legal dispute over its title.
KAA maintains that it holds a valid 1996 title deed for the land, but MPs like Laikipia East MP Mwangi Kiunjuri raised concerns about the legitimacy of these claims.
However, Kabale admitted that the NLC had been approached too late to intervene, as the legal window for challenging fraudulent land allocations had already closed.
“We cannot change the situation now,” he said, adding that the commission’s hands were tied.
Vivo Energy Operations
Further review was applied to Vivo Energy, which operates a jet fuel depot on the disputed site.
The committee demanded to see the agreement between Vivo Energy and KAA, questioning why no eviction had been carried out despite similar actions taken against other squatters on public land.
Also Read: South Sudan Central Bank Directs Stanbic to Register as Local Bank
KAA’s acting CEO, Nicholas Bodo, faced harsh criticism for failing to produce key documents or clarify the terms of the fuel depot’s operation.
The committee also noted that the NLC had failed to act swiftly when alerted about the land’s questionable transfers, despite multiple red flags raised by the Auditor General’s Office.
Audit Reviewed
Of the 78 audit queries reviewed, 15 pertained to disputed land parcels, including the one at the heart of the Malindi Airport.
Further complicating the issue is the stalled National Land Commission (Amendment) Bill, 2023, which aims to streamline the commission’s operations and empower it to recover public land.
The bill, which passed the National Assembly in March, is still awaiting deliberation in the Senate, a delay that is hampering efforts to resolve land disputes across the country.
Follow our WhatsApp Channel and X Account for real-time news updates.
