The NLC has already paid Sh1.5 billion as part of compensation in the acquisition of the land where iRuaraka High School and Drive Inn Primary School are located.
The Sh1.5 billion was released in January last year as a downpayment to businessman Francis Mburu’s Whispering Palms Company for the land, LR NO 7879/4.
The judges said no explanation was given by Afrison Export Import Limited and Huelands Limited, both owned by Mburu, as to why they did not pursue compensation of the land in the 1980swhen the school was established.
“The schools have been on the land for the past 30 years without any contestation,” they said.
The judges said the compensation claim giving rise to the reference filed in court only emerged in 2016 as a historical injustice claim by the two companies. They said it would not serve any purpose for the commission to move to court in a reference when it has already completed the process of compulsory acquisition because to recover public funds may be difficult.
The NLC filed the reference in court last year to help it determine whether the two schools — Ruaraka High School and Drive Inn Primary School — are on public land or private land.
NLC decided to invoke the jurisdiction of the Environment and Lands Court under Section 127 and 128 of the Lands Act to determine the validity of the title of LR 7879/4.
The said sections provide that the commission may at any time, “refer to the Court for its determination on any question as to — the construction, validity or effect of any instrument, the persons who are interested in the land concerned, the extent or nature of their interest and the persons [to] whom compensation is payable.”
