The legal battle between Kenya Commercial Bank (KCB) and former President Uhuru Kenyatta's cousins, Captain Kung'u Muigai and Ngengi Muigai, over a 443-acre piece of land has come to a conclusion. KCB had auctioned the land in 2007 after it was used as security for a loan. The cousins had sought to salvage the land, but the Court of Appeal judges unanimously ruled in favor of the bank, stating that the case was fatally defective. The judges also questioned why Captain Kung'u had remained silent for 32 years about their lawyer's involvement in the case. The Supreme Court had previously issued a judgment affirming the validity of the consent at the heart of the case. As a result, Commercial Court Judge Frida Mugambi has ordered the eviction of Uhuru's cousin from the farm within seven days. The land was sold to Bidii Limited for Sh70 million in 2007 [d40ab3d5].
In a separate property dispute, a High Court judge has granted an official the power to dispose of three properties in Maketū, New Zealand, occupied by Mongrel Mob senior member Valentine Nicholas and his partner. The properties are subject to a forfeiture order under the Criminal Proceeds (Recovery) Act, but Nicholas has refused to vacate. The judge ruled that Nicholas and his partner had unlawfully benefited from criminal activity and made an assets forfeiture order. The properties have failed to sell despite four years of effort, and Nicholas has used threats and gang affiliations to obstruct the sale. The judge has authorized the Official Assignee to take whatever steps necessary to dispose of the properties, including gifting or selling below market value. Offers to buy the properties have been made, but concerns about health and safety risks and staff intimidation have been raised. Nicholas owes $129,469.47 in rates and $5117 in water rates for the properties. The Official Assignee's costs in pursuing the matter were $395,743.37 [b1b9a1c6].
In Papua New Guinea, two widows and their children were among other squatters who had to dismantle their homes as the eviction exercise started at portion 2157 at Nine-Mile’s Bush Wara. Agnes Kamak, 52, from Jiwaka’s South Waghi, and Jen Emeke, from Enga’s Wapenamanda, said they had lived and raised their children in the area for the past 10 years since the death of their husbands. Kamak said she saved the money while working as a cleaner in various companies and bought a piece of land for K10,000 (NZ$4200) in 2013 from a man claiming to be from Koiari and a customary landowner. Emeke, who also worked as a cleaner, said she bought the piece of land for K10,000 and has lived with her two children in the area since 2016. On March 12, the National Court granted leave to Nambawan Super Limited (NSL) to issue writs of possession to all illegal settlers residing within portions 2156, 2157 and 2159 at 9-Mile’s Bush Wara. It granted a 120-day grace period for the settlers to voluntarily vacate the land portions. Most squatters had moved out during the grace period. A survey conducted two years ago revealed that the total population squatting on the NSL land was about 5400 with 900 houses. The eviction exercise started three years ago [1d42c6e8] [66ec46cd].