Outgoing NLC Vice Chair Abigael Mbagaya has declared that Deputy President William Ruto must compensate Kenya Civil Aviation Authority (KCAA) for Weston Hotel land.
Speaking on Tuesday during Citizen TV’s Day Break Show, Mbagaya said that the compensation must meet the current market value to enable KCAA buy land of similar size and value.
Mbagaya said the commission has already directed that a valuation be done on the land the Hotel sits.
She reiterated that the only chance Ruto has is to look for the people who sold the land to him.
“If he wants, he can go after the people who sold it to him….that’s what we are doing…you return it because it’s you we have caught on the ground then you chase whoever else who sold it to you to recover your money, ” said Mbagaya.
Further, the Vice-chair, stated that there was no political influence on how NLC had handled the Weston Hotel issue.
“How can there be political influence when you are telling somebody to pay restitution to the people of Kenya?,” she posed.
NLC had concluded that the commission could not verify if the process of land allocation was illegal as none of the parties had presented evidence before it.
However, the commission stated that the land belonged to KCAA.
Last week, while appearing on BBC’s Hard Talk show hosted by Stephen Sackur, Ruto said he was an innocent buyer who bought the land from people who acquired the property illegally.
“For your information, Weston Hotel was bought…,” told the host.
“Not bought illegally. In fact, for the record, the National Land Commission has made a finding that Weston was an innocent purchaser for value from somebody who got it illegally, and preparations have been made constitutionally to restore that land to Kenya Civil Aviation Authority by demanding that those who sold the land to us must pay,” said the Deputy President.
However, Ruto stated that he is keen to ensure that the illegalities are corrected.
