A matter in which Mombasa Tycoon Mohamed Jaffar is sued by squatters seeking orders, to compel him to refund Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) compensation that he illegally acquired from the government is now set for a ruling.

Jaffar had irregularly been allocated 1.8 billion for land that he acquired illegally.

In the constitution review petition, filed by Miritini Free Port against several squatters among them, Theresia Runji, Marietta Gitonga, Naomi Kiio, and Sammy Kara against NLC.

Mombasa High Court Judge Olga Sewe directed that her court was not set to issue a ruling.

"I hereby direct that following the party's submissions l will render my ruling in May," she stated when the matter came up for mention.

According to the squatters in their submissions and affidavits, they informed the court that the National Land Commission (NLC) made illegal payments to Miritini Free Port Limited a company owned by Jaffar.

The petitioners aver that NLC under the instructions of the then Commissioner Mohammed Swazuri illegally compensated Miritini Free Port Ltd with more money without considering that the petitioners had not been compensated at all.

The squatters said they were allocated the land by the government in 1996 after they were moved from Bombululu after the land was acquired for the construction of a children’s home.

In 2007, they were shocked when the commissioner of lands canceled the survey and instead consolidated the two plots and issued the same to Migdad Enterprises.

When the squatters heard of the cancellation of the survey and plans to deny them the land, they sued to stop the process. The court issued a conservatory order suspending the allocation of the land.

However, disregarding the court orders, the former commissioner of land directed the registration of the land to Miqdad, which later sold it to Miritini Free Port, which later sold it to the NLC in exchange for compensation.

This transfer took place through Mombasa County and the Attorney General had confirmed the land belonged to the squatters and alongside the NLC, recommended ownership rights be granted to the four petitioners.

However, in 2015, a letter annexed NLC/Chairman/VOL/XIII/275 indicated the land had been transferred to Miritini Free Port from Migdad, who only had an allotment letter, while the squatters produced the original title deed.

Written By: Peter Maseke.