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Former minister Gumo entangled in Loresho land dispute


Former Cabinet minister Fred Gumo  has been dragged into a vicious land dispute in Nairobi’s upmarket suburb of Loresho, which is expected to offer yet another glimpse into the inner workings of the Land registry.

At the centre of the dispute is a portion of the 2.5 acre piece of land that businessman Rafique Ebrahim sold to Mr Gumo, but which has now been claimed by former Commissioner of Land Wilson Gachanja.

Mr Gumo is a former MP for Westlands Constituency, where the disputed piece of land lies.

Mr Gachanja claims that he acquired the five parcels of land that add up to 2.5 acres in 1995 before Mr Ebrahim illegally took possession of the plots and sold them to separate buyers, including Mr Gumo.

INNOCENT BUYER

Mr Ebrahim who has moved to court for orders stopping his arrest over the land dispute insists he innocently bought the five parcels of land from other individuals before selling them to different buyers.

Court documents do not show how much any of the parties claiming ownership of the plots paid for acquisition, but land prices in the area vary from Sh75 million to Sh140 million per acre, according to current valuations by various property valuers.

Mr Ebrahim says he sold one of the land parcels to Mr Gumo’s investment vehicle — Endebess Development Company Limited — in 2011 but the former Westlands MP called him three years later to inform him that unknown individuals had settled on the land. Mr Gumo is a director of Endebess alongside Adil Daud.

Mr Gachanja insists that he acquired the 2.5 acres through his firm—Kerilaik Holdings while it was still listed as one parcel, but subdivided it into six plots.

ROAD RESERVE

One of the divisions was, however, demarcated as a road reserve, forcing Mr Gachanja to surrender it to the government.

“Sometimes in March 2014, I received a call from Adil Daud and Fred Gumo, the directors of Endebess Development Company Limited, persons to whom I had sold some of the said parcels, informing me that there were persons who had encroached on the said land after which I advised them to report the matter to the police,” Mr Ebrahim says.

Mr Gachanja was, however, first to record a complaint with the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI), a move that has seen Mr Ebrahim seek court orders stopping his arrest over the dispute.

Read the full story here.

SOURCE: Business Daily