Tatu City and Kiambu County are engaged in a public tussle over a demand by Governor Kimani Wamatangi’s government that the former cedes 54 acres for public use, including for construction of a governor’s residence, which the developer views as extortion.
Governor Wamatangi has not denied the allegations of seeking part of the Tatu City land, but he only differs with Tatu City management on the intended purpose, stating that the 10 per cent of the 5,000 acres demanded by the County is intended for public use as per the law.He says his government has officially requested Tatu City to surrender land for public amenities including 10 acres for social housing to accommodate low-cadre workers within the industrial park, 44 acres for a stadium, community centre, social hall, hospital and administration offices and 2 acres for the construction of the governor’s official residence.He stated that the residence will be a public facility registered in the name of the county government and not the governor’s name.“The County Government of Kiambu has requested Tatu City to surrender land for public use, as per the Physical and Land Use Planning Act 2019 (PLUPA) and the Physical and Land Use Planning (Development Permission and Control) (General) Regulations 2021. Section 55, 58 and schedule 7 of the Physical and Land Use Planning Act, guides the subdivision, amalgamation and surrender of public land,” Gov Wamatangi said in a statement.
“These regulations mandate private developers to allocate land for public facilities such as schools, hospitals, fire stations, recreational areas, police stations, playgrounds and other public utilities,” he added.
“It is important to note that the 54 acres requested is just a drop in the ocean of the 406 acres that were earmarked for public use during the approval of the initial master plan.”
The Governor’s ResidenceAccording to communication from Tatu City, Kiambu County’s request for land, including for the governor’s residence, amounts to public purpose housing.
“The subject matter at issue is whether public purpose land is public land owned by the Government. The answer is that it is not. The Land Act provides that in the event that land is required by the Government for a public purpose, then the compulsory acquisition process must follow,” Esther Omulele, Managing Partner, MMC ASAFO said in a legal advisory to Tatu City, “For the County Government to construct on any part of the land, it must either purchase the property for its value or follow the due process of compulsory acquisition.”
On 20th May 2019, the Salaries and Remuneration Commission said that residences for the County Governor, deputy Governor and County Assembly Speaker were to be developed on public land owned by the County Government.
Thus, according to Omulele, the County Government of Kiambu cannot mandate the developer to cede their private land for use in the construction of the Governor’s residence.
Tatu City is owned and developed by Rendeavour, whose shareholders include investors from New Zealand, United Kingdom, United States and Norway.
Preston Mendenhall, Chief Operating Officer and Kenya Country Head at Rendeavour claims that Governor Wamatangi has held up the approval of Tatu City’s new Master Plan for more than a year and a half while he and county officials attempted to seize more than 40 acres of land.
“It’s time to blow the whistle on Governor Wamatangi’s attempted extortion of Tatu City,” Mendenhall said at a press briefing last week, “Governor Wamatangi, in a series of meetings with Tatu City and its representatives, has illegally demanded free land in return for approving Tatu City’s new Master Plan. We condemn Governor Wamatangi for harming Kenya’s investment climate and destroying job creation.”
According to Mendenhall, Tatu City estimates that Governor Wamatangi’s delay has cost the county and country more than KSh 16 billion (US$ 125 million) in additional investment value and 4,500 new jobs for young Kenyans.
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