ENVIRONMENT AND LAND COURT CANCELS TITLES, RESTORES KES 281 MILLION IN PUBLIC LAND IN MOMBSA
By Chemtai Kirui | 24 February 2026 | Mombasa, Kenya
The Environment and Land Court in Mombasa has ordered the return of public land valued at 281 million shillings to state ownership after nullifying private titles issued over parcels reserved for railway infrastructure and road expansion.
In consolidated cases ELC 64 and 65 of 2020, together with ELC 180 of 2015, the court restored ownership of parcels Mombasa/Block 1/525 and 1/526 along Shimanzi Road to the Kenya Railways Corporation, finding that the land had been unlawfully allocated in 1994 and later transferred to third parties.
In a judgment delivered on February 13, 2026, the court declared the allocations illegal and ordered cancellation of the titles. The two parcels are valued at approximately 175 million shillings.
In a separate ruling issued on February 3, 2026, the court nullified a lease over Mombasa Island/Block XI/937 along Tom Mboya Avenue, formerly Tudor Road. The parcel, designated as a road reserve and valued at 15 million shillings, was ordered to revert to public use.
The Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC), which filed the suits alongside Kenya Railways, said the additional recovery of related parcels along the same corridor valued at 91 million shillings brings the total land restored in the matter to 281 million shillings.
“The court determined that the parcels, which had been reserved for Kenya Railways and future road expansion, were unlawfully allocated and subsequently transferred,” the Commission said in a statement on Monday, describing the rulings as major victories in its asset recovery efforts.
Kenya Railways said the reclaimed land is critical for operational and future expansion plans in the port city, where pressure on transport infrastructure has grown in recent years.
Under Article 62 of the 2010 Constitution, public land is vested in and held by national or county governments in trust for the people of Kenya. The Constitution further provides that public land cannot be disposed of or allocated except in accordance with an Act of Parliament.
The Land Act and the National Land Commission Act establish procedures for the administration of public land, while the Anti-Corruption and Economic Crimes Act empowers the EACC to institute civil proceedings to recover public property acquired irregularly.
Courts in the country have consistently held that titles issued in violation of the law are liable to cancellation, even where transfers have occurred. The Environment and Land Court, established under Article 162(2)(b) of the Constitution, has jurisdiction to hear disputes relating to land and title.
The Supreme Court of Kenya has previously held that a title deed is “the end product of a process” and cannot stand where the initial allocation was unlawful — a principle applied in a series of land recovery cases in recent years.
In the Mombasa cases, the court found that the parcels were excised from land reserved for public infrastructure without lawful authority.
According to court filings referenced by the Commission, the contested allocations date back to 1994. Kenya Railways first moved to assert its claim over the land in 2015, with the EACC later joining proceedings.
Land disputes in coastal Kenya have historically involved overlapping records, contested allocations and questions over conversion of public land to private tenure. Mombasa, a densely built port city with limited expansion corridors, has faced particular scrutiny over encroachment on road reserves, rail corridors and other public utility land.
Urban planners say the loss of protected corridors can have long-term consequences. Once road or rail reserves are built over, expansion often requires costly compensation or demolition, delaying transport upgrades in already congested cities.
The EACC said that over the past year it has filed 79 recovery suits seeking assets valued at about 4.8 billion shillings and has successfully recovered 3.4 billion shillings.
At a press briefing this week, EACC Director of Legal Services David Too said the agency first became aware of the dispute in 2015, when Kenya Railways moved to protect its land rights. The anti-graft body later joined the cases in 2020. Too said the court’s decisions vindicate years of painstaking investigation.
“These parcels were carved out of railway land without proper legal authority and passed on to private parties,” he said. “The rulings not only return the land to the public estate but also send a message that illegally acquired public assets will be reclaimed regardless of how long they have been in private hands.”
The Commission reiterated its position that illegally acquired public assets will be pursued through civil proceedings.
The rulings come amid sustained efforts by state agencies to review historical allocations of public land across the country. Courts have in recent years affirmed that public interest considerations apply where land was originally set aside for utilities, education, transport or other state functions.
Legal analysts note that while recovery cases can restore title, enforcement and physical repossession often depend on whether appeals are filed. Parties named in the Mombasa cases have 90 days to lodge appeals, adding that the weaknesses in land administration during the 1990s — including fragmented records and discretionary allocation powers — created conditions under which public utility land could be converted to private tenure.
If upheld, the judgments will formally return the parcels to the public land register under the relevant state agencies.
The defendants did not immediately respond to requests for comment, and court records did not indicate whether an appeal would be filed.
For Kenya Railways, the decision clears uncertainty over property considered strategic for rail-linked logistics in a city central to the country’s import and export economy.
Officials from Kenya Railways also welcomed the rulings, saying recovery of the land will help unlock stalled infrastructure plans.
“We have pursued this case for years to protect public investment,” said Stanley Cheruiyot, General Manager for Business and Commercial Services at Kenya Railways. “Now we can formally repossess the property and plan for future expansion.”
Land experts note that the deployment of strategic state land for public utilities such as rail and road is critical for urban planning, particularly in fast-growing cities like Mombasa. When such land is lost to private development through irregular allocations, it not only erodes public wealth but also constrains long-term infrastructure planning.
The county has faced decades of disputes over irregular land allocations, particularly involving public utility land reserved for schools, transport corridors and other state functions. Legal reforms introduced under the 2010 Constitution strengthened protections for public land and established clearer procedures for allocation and recovery.
Laws such as the Land Act, the National Land Commission Act and the Anti-Corruption and Economic Crimes Act (ACECA) provide mechanisms for restitution, cancellation of irregular titles, and prosecution of corrupt conduct in land transactions. Under ACECA and the EACC Act, the commission is empowered to initiate court proceedings to recover or protect public property.
However, cases dating back to the 1990s continue to surface in court as state agencies review historical transactions.
The individuals and entities named in the cases have 90 days from the rulings to file appeals. If no appeals are lodged, EACC and Kenya Railways intend to enforce the orders and take physical possession of the land.
Meanwhile, EACC says it is pursuing other irregular land parcels in Mombasa linked to entities such as the Kenya Ports Authority and the Kenya Civil Aviation Authority. The Commission continues to encourage voluntary surrender of public land believed to have been irregularly acquired.
The rulings clarify that historical allocations can be reversed where found unlawful and that public utility corridors remain protected under Kenyan law.
