The Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) has moved to court to stop the illegal auction of public land that belongs to the Agricultural Training Centre(ATC) which is owned by a private company known as Hashi Energy Limited.

They caught wind of this through an advert of an auction that was published by Dalali Auctioneers on Friday, August 2024, by local dailies.

During a media briefing on an investigation tour of land earmarked for illegal auction, the EACC South Rift Regional Manager Ignatius Wekesa disclosed that the land in question is part of 165 acres of ATC property, valued at over KES 10 billion.

The Commission is actively investigating the matter to recover the land and return it to the public which was unlawfully acquired by more than 50 private individuals.

It is reported that each acre of the land is currently valued at Ksh 80 million and some of the grabbers acquired bank loans using the grabbed land as security.                    

The commission has since cautioned members of the public planning to participate in the auction stating that they risk being conned as no particular person can claim ownership of the land. They further stated that any person purchasing the land may risk losing it to the government after ongoing investigations and court processes are completed.

Wekesa said that the Commission has since written to the Ministry of Lands asking to put restrictions on the land and stop any dealings until ongoing investigations are completed.

Any person who has falsely claimed ownership of public land in the Nakuru region has been asked to voluntarily surrender the land. Failure to do so will result in the full force of the law being applied.