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Kenya Railways warns against encroachment on its land

A commuter train of the Nairobi Commuter Rail Service (NCRS) travels from the Donholm station in Nairobi on November 12, 2018. (Photo: Thomas Mukoya/Reuters)

By Maureen Kinyanjui | Tuesday, April 16, 2024

The auditor-general says taxpayers risk losing land worth Sh15.17 billion that was sold parcels to private developers.

The Kenya Railways Corporation (KRC) has warned against encroachment on its land, expressing concern that in some parts, people have set up homes and even built business units.

In a notice on Tuesday, the KRC noted that it is illegal to establish such a presence on rail corridors.

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"We hereby notify members of the public that encroachment on the railway operational corridor is an offence punishable by law," it said, citing the Mombasa-Suswa standard gauge and the Mombasa-Kisumu-Malaba metre gauge railway corridors.

The KRC also has branch lines in Nakuru, Kisumu, Voi, Taveta, Nairobi, Nanyuki, Gilgil, Nyahururu, Kisumu, Butere, Eldoret, Kitale, Konza, and Magadi, as well as railway sidings.

Auditor-General Nancy Gathungu earlier revealed that taxpayers risk losing land worth Sh15.17 billion belonging to the state-owned KRC to cartels that subdivided it and sold parcels to private developers.

Gathungu said the commissioner of lands and defunct local authorities hived off parcels of the freehold land and sold it to third parties, some of whom developed it.

In her audit report on the company for the financial year ending June 2020, she said this was in addition to 529 other pieces of land spread throughout the country that have also been grabbed, illustrating the difficult task of repossession.

At the same time, the corporation reminded tenants and licensees to ensure rent payments are up-to-date, with evidence to be presented at its offices.

"Evidence of payment should be presented to the nearest KR office in Nairobi, Nakuru, Mombasa, Kisumu and Eldoret, and a receipt issued," the notice states.

Failure to comply with the regulations outlined in the tenancy agreement will force action, the KRC said, adding that payments should be made via the Citizen platform.