Mama Ngina Sues Govt Over Land Measuring Over 1,000 Hectares

Former First Lady Mama Ngina Kenyatta, the mother of former President Uhuru Kenyatta, has moved to court over a piece of land in Taita Taveta County measuring 1,062.3 hectares.

Mama Ngina alongside former Taveta Member of Parliament (MP) Basil Criticos have sued the Chief Lands Registrar and Attorney General Justin Muturi over failing to provide them with a Certificate of Title for the land, contending that they are both its co-owners.

According to court documents seen by Viral Tea, the duo want the court to compel the lands registrar to issue them with the original certificate of the Tittle Land Reference LR No. 10287/7.

"The Applicants are the joint operators and owners of the parcel of land known as L.R No. 10287/7 Taveta under the provisions of Sections 24 and 25 of the Land Registration Act.

Former Taita Taveta MP Basil Criticos. /FILE

"In terms of the said provisions of the Land Registration Act, the Applicants hold and enjoy land rights of absolute ownership of that land together with all rights and privileges belonging or appurtenant thereto," read the documents in part.

Mama Ngina and Criticos later divided the land and transferred the subdivisions which were registered and given their respective certificate of title.

The duo indicated that they are yet to be issued the title deed despite being the actual owners of the land, adding that only the Lands Registrar can explain why they were denied the title deed.

"In breach of his said statutory obligation or duty, the 1st Respondent has to date failed to issue to the applicants (former First Lady and the MP) the said Certificate of Title in relation to the said parcel of land L.R No. 10287/7 Taveta.

"The said breach or failure by the 1st respondent (the Chief Land Registrar) denies the applicants the statutory right to have or hold the said Certificate of Title as evidence of proprietorship of their said parcel of land," the documents added.

The duo wanted the matter certified as urgent, a request granted by Justice John Chigiti, who ordered Mama Ngina and the former MP to file a substantive motion within 14 days.

Muturi and the Land Registrar were also directed to file and serve their responses within 14 days after being served by the applicants.

"The Applicants shall thereafter file and serve their submissions within 14 days. The Respondents shall thereafter file and serve their submissions within 14 days of service," read the orders.

The matter was set for mention on March 5, 2024, to report compliance.

A past report by Forbes indicated that the Kenyatta Family owns over 500,000 acres of prime land across the country, the most of any group of landowners in Kenya.

A declassified report by America’s spy agency, the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) made public six years ago revealed some of the family’s land holdings at the time of Kenya's first President, Jomo Kenyatta’s passing in 1978.

“(Jomo) Kenyatta himself owned only about a half-dozen properties covering roughly 4,000 hectares, mainly farms in the Rift Valley and in the district of Kiambu where he was born.

"His wife, Mama Ngina Kenyatta, however, owns at least 115,000 hectares including a 13,000-hectare ranch in the Kiambu district, two tea plantations at Matu and Mangu, and three sisal farms near the Tanzanian border. She also has considerable holdings in the resort areas around Mombasa and is involved in coffee plantations and in the Kenyan ruby mines,” it read in part.

The family’s wealth including massive land holdings grew significantly in the independence years under the late Jomo Kenyatta.

Mama Ngina is credited with overseeing the family’s diversification into various sectors with the family having interests in sectors including financial services, dairy processing, hospitality, real estate, media and more.