EACC Moves to Recover Eldoret’s Ksh 200 Million Grabbed Public Land

The Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) has filed a suit for recovery of prime public land valued at Ksh 200 million located in the heart of Eldoret Central Business District.

According to EACC, the land in question is located within the Eldoret CBD and measures a total of 3.44 acres.

It was originally reserved for government housing.

Who is behind alleged grabbing of Eldoret public land?

The land is alleged to have been fraudulently and illegally alienated for the benefit an individual named in court documents as Wilfred Kitur Kimalat.

Kimalat is said to be a former Permanent Secretary for Provincial Administration and National Security, and Endo Holdings Limited, a company associated with the late Ishmael Chelang’a.

“At the time, Chelang’a served in senior public roles, including that of Provincial Commissioner for Rift Valley Province,” EACC notes in court documents

Wilson Gacanja, the then Commissioner of Lands, has been named in the suit for breach of his statutory and fiduciary duties.

EACC contends that the land where two government houses still stands; house numbers ELD/HOU/MG/42 and ELD/HOU/MG/43 was not available for allocation as the same had been reserved and in use for public purposes.

“The EACC investigations established that the two houses are still under the management of the State Department of Housing and Urban Development and therefore remains public property,” read the court documents.

Which orders are EACC seeking in grabbed Eldoret land case?

EACC is seeking declarations that the leases issued by the Commissioner of Lands and subsequent transfers are null and void.

It also wants the cancellation of all related land registrations, a permanent injunction preventing further dealings with the land, and an order to register the land in trust for the State Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Justice E.M. Washe of the Environment and Land Court in Eldoret has certified the injunction application as urgent and scheduled it for hearing on July 23, 2025.