The Court of Appeal has ordered the wealthy Moi family and billionaire sugar baron Jaswant Rai to pay an 88-year-old widow over Sh2 billion grabbing her land.
The 53-acre piece of land was grabbed from the widow of former chief Noah Chelugui and her son David way back in 1983 when Moi was the president.
At the time, Moi issued a presidential directive to the Ministry of Land to forcefully take ownership of the prime property in Eldoret town.
In a controversial process that the court has now established was illegal, the land found its way into the hands of the Moi family who later sold it Rai’s family 24 years after its illegal acquisition.
It is after the Moi reign ended that the matter found its way in court as the ageing widow sought justice, facing off with the two billionaire families.
High Court judge Antony Ombwayo’s 2019 ruling ordered a compensation package of 1.06 for Ms Chelugui and her son, which was the value of the property at the time.
Uneasy with the ruling, Mr Moi’s estate had, through its administrator, Zehrabanu Janmohammed moved to the appellate court.
Court of Appeal judges Patrick Kiage, Kathumira M’Inoti and Mumbi Ngugi handled the matter and dismissed the appeal and ordered the two families to pay the widow and her son Ksh 2billion.
With guidance from the above provision on the manner in which the constitution should be construed, we think that Article 40 of the constitution is one of those constitutional provisions that is not limited in its application. It can, and must in appropriate cases, apply retrospectively. It seems quite clear to us that the right to property is ring-fenced by the constitution and courts must be vigilant to ensure that the State and those who wield State power do not by might negate the right,” the Court of Appeal judges ruled.
Rather than evict Rai Plywood (K) Limited that currently occupies the land, the court chose to pursue monetary compensation commensurate to the value of the land.
The family of the former president will now use part of his estate to settle the matter with the Rai family which runs a conglomerate of businesses, including sugar milling also digging into their pockets.
