Mombasa Resident Judge in Trouble Over Ksh 1.8bn The High Court in Mombasa is set to deliver its ruling on a matter where the National Land Commission (NLC) had been ordered to recover Ksh1.8 billion that was illegally paid to Mombasa businessman Mohammed Jaffar.
The illegal payout was made to a company associated with the Mombasa tycoon, Miritini Free Port. Mombasa Resident Judge Olga Sewe has formerly failed to deliver the ruling, citing various reasons.
In March this year, when the matter came up for ruling, Justice Sewe informed the parties that she was once again unable to render her judgment, stating that her court was sitting in Kwale and she had forgotten to carry the file to Kwale to have her ruling read.
In May, she informed the parties that she was unable to deliver the ruling since she had been assigned to sit on a three-judge bench matter. Additionally, in June, Justice Sewe informed the parties that the ruling was not ready since she had been away on official duties in Nairobi. This marks the fifth time the court has failed to deliver the judgment.
Mombasa Resident Judge in Trouble Over Ksh 1.8bn
In the matter, Miritini Free Port is seeking orders to set aside earlier directives issued by then Mombasa High Court Judge Erick Ogolla, who had ordered the money illegally paid out by the National Land Commission (NLC) to be refunded, on grounds that it had been unlawfully disbursed to the company.
However, in a spirited fight, four petitioners, through lawyer Gikandi Ngubuini, have asked the court to freeze the money paid to Jaffar until the petition is heard and determined. The money in dispute was illegally paid to Miritini Free Port, instead of being awarded to the needy petitioners who informed the court that they are the rightful owners of the land.
They had been resettled in the area by the government, having been relocated from Bombolulu to make way for the construction of a children’s home. In 2021, Justice Ogolla, in his judgment, stated that the firm allowed itself to receive compensation from taxpayers’ money for land that had been acquired by the NLC through fraudulent means.
The judge faulted the NLC’s approval of the compensation award, despite having full knowledge that the land belonged to squatters and that the firm had illegally acquired it. “NLC was used by the owner of the firm to facilitate the illegal payments.
The court cannot allow this kind of corruption, where individuals bribe their way to obtain taxpayers’ money at the expense of genuine, needy Kenyans,” Justice Ogolla ruled. The constitutional review petition was filed by Miritini Free Port against Theresia Runji, Marieta Gitonga, Naomi Kiio, and Sammy Kara, as well as the NLC.
The matter is set to be mentioned on September 26 for further directions. This much-awaited ruling has been pending before the High Court for the sixth time.
Whenever the matter comes up, the resident judge is either away or busy handling other official duties.
Justice Sewe is expected to issue her ruling after several failed attempts to do so, delaying the case against Mombasa tycoon Mohammed Jaffar, who illegally pocketed Ksh1.8 billion in SGR compensation.
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