Supreme Court halts recovery of Ksh.1.5 billion in Ruaraka school land case

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Supreme Court halts recovery of Ksh.1.5 billion in Ruaraka school land case

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The Supreme Court has temporarily halted efforts to recover Ksh.1.5 billion paid as compensation for land occupied by Ruaraka High School and Drive-In Primary School, pending the hearing and determination of a case challenging the Court of Appeal's decision in the long-running dispute.

The interim orders

were issued on August 18, 2026, in Supreme Court Petition E025 of 2026

following an application by Huelands Limited.

The orders stay

execution of the judgment delivered by the Court of Appeal on July 3, 2026,

pending the determination of a Notice of Motion filed before the apex court.

The Supreme Court

has, in the meantime, barred the National Land Commission (NLC) from demanding

or taking steps to recover the Ksh.1.5 billion paid as compensation for the

portions of land occupied by the two schools.

The court has also

stopped any investigation, arrest, charging or prosecution of Huelands Limited,

Afrison Export Import Limited, Whispering Palms Estate Limited, or their

directors and officers in relation to the payment.

It has further

prohibited any alteration, rectification, cancellation or amendment of the land

register relating to L.R. Nos. 7879/4, 7879/24 and 7879/25, as well as

demolition, re-entry, eviction, transfer, charging or other interference with

the disputed portions of land.

The orders

temporarily interrupt steps that had been initiated by the Ethics and

Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) following the Court of Appeal judgment.

The commission says

it had commenced efforts to recover the Ksh.1.5 billion and was considering

criminal accountability measures against individuals alleged to have

participated in, facilitated or benefited from the payment.

The dispute

centres on approximately 13.5 acres of land on which Ruaraka High School and

Drive-In Primary School stand.

According to

investigations cited by the EACC, the land had been surrendered to the government

free of charge through an approved subdivision plan in 1983.

A claim for

compensation was nevertheless lodged with the NLC in 2017, leading to the

payment of Ksh.1.5 billion to Afrison Export Import Limited and Huelands

Limited through Whispering Palms Estate Limited.

The investigations

identified what the Commission described as significant irregularities

involving public officials at the Ministry of Education and the NLC. Huelands

and Afrison have, however, disputed that account.

In their Supreme

Court petition, the companies argue that L.R. No. 7879/4 remains private land

registered in their names and that the portions occupied by the two schools

were never surrendered to the government.

They maintain that

the Ksh.1.5 billion was the first tranche of a negotiated Ksh.3.2 billion

compensation award for compulsory acquisition of approximately 13.5 acres.

The applicants

further contend that Whispering Palms Estate Limited was duly appointed as

their agent or nominee to receive the first tranche of the compensation.

They have asked

the Supreme Court to find that there was no loss of public funds arising from

the Ksh.1.5 billion payment and to order the NLC to pay them the outstanding

Ksh.1.769 billion balance of the compensation.

The dispute has

been before the courts for several years. In a judgment delivered on June 28,

2019, the Environment and Land Court found that the two schools stood on public

land and that the government had lost Ksh.1.5 billion already paid as

compensation.

The court held

that the land was not subject to compulsory acquisition because the government's

interest in the public amenity plots had crystallised through the approved

subdivision process.

The Court of

Appeal subsequently upheld the central finding on July 3, 2026. Although

Huelands and Afrison remained the registered proprietors of the parent title

L.R. No. 7879/4, the appellate court found that the portions reserved for

Ruaraka High School and Drive-In Primary School had been validly surrendered to

the government through the subdivision process.

The Court of

Appeal consequently held that the portions constituted public land, meaning the

NLC had no legal basis to compulsorily acquire them.

It further found

the Ksh.1.5 billion compensation payment unlawful and dismissed the appeal,

substantially upholding the Environment and Land Court's findings.

The appellate

court also held that there had been a de facto surrender of the land despite

the absence of a formally registered surrender instrument.

Following that

judgment, the EACC announced that it would pursue recovery of the Ksh.1.5

billion and resume investigations into possible criminal culpability.

The commission had

previously forwarded its inquiry file to the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP)

in February 2025, but the DPP had advised that action await the outcome of the

Court of Appeal proceedings.

The Supreme Court

orders now place those recovery and enforcement measures on hold pending the

ongoing proceedings.

The EACC has

separately challenged the Supreme Court's jurisdiction to hear the appeal under

Article 163(4)(a) of the Constitution. That application remains pending before

the apex court.

The Supreme Court

will therefore have to determine the applicants' constitutional and

land-related arguments, including whether the historical subdivision process

validly converted the disputed portions into public land and whether the

subsequent compensation was lawful.

The applicants

contend that the case raises fundamental questions concerning private property

rights, land registration, compulsory acquisition and the constitutional

protection of property.

Reporting originally appeared via Citizen Digital. Read the full source for additional context.