Weston Hotel refuses to vacate Lang'ata land, pay KCAA
The management of Weston Hotel has maintained that it was an innocent purchaser of the land along Lang'ata Road in Nairobi County on which it stands.
In response to a petition filed by the Kenya Civil Aviation Authority, the hotel said it paid to acquire the controversial plot so it cannot be forced to vacate.
Further, the hotel said it did due diligence before purchasing the property and confirmed sanctity of the title.
PURCHASE
According to Weston, the case by the KCAA was filed with ulterior motives, especially after the National Land Commission found the title was not acquired fraudulently.
Through General Manager Michael Nzile, the hotel said, "Consequently, the allegation of fraudulent acquisition and registration are unsubstantiated and nothing short of mere rumours propagated by the petitioner in a resort to infringe, violate and limit Weston's right to property."
The hotel's management said it purchased the property from Priority Limited and Monene Investment Limited and that the title cannot be revoked as urged by the KCAA.
Mr Nzile further said the management cannot be asked to compensate the authority, having voluntarily vacated a site near Wilson Airport for the agency.
In his affidavit, he urged the court to uphold the sanctity of its title and dismiss KCAA’s petition, saying it does not meet the required threshold for granting conservatory orders.
Through Paul Chirchir, Priority said the NLC found that the company was a bona-fide purchaser.
"MALICE"
The hotel's lawyer, Ahmednassir Abdullahi, sought dismissal of the case, arguing that the KCAA has not made a case deserving of any of the prayers sought.
Mr Abdullahi added that the famous Ndung'u Report did not make a conclusive decision on the issue of ownership of the suit property, which is binding on the court.
Further the report has not acquired any statutory form and as such, has no force of law and it is doubtful whether the recommendations therein legally identify KCAA as the legal proprietor of the property.
Weston has stated that there was no evidence placed before the NLC to show it was reckless in purchasing the suit property or that building approvals were not issued.
"KCAA's allegations raised in the petition are pregnant with malice and falsities, and a progeny of the KCAA's insatiable desire to make mischief, and are meant to deprive or threaten Weston Hotel's property rights and unjustly enrich KCAA", the lawyer said.
The Environment and Land Court earlier blocked the valuation, sub-division, sale and transfer of the controversial land, pending determination of the case.
Justice Benard Ebosso further stopped implementation of the NLC's January 25 decision, which allowed the hotel's owners to compensate the agency at market value to enable it to purchase alternative land.
KCAA'S ARGUMENTS
The disputed public land was acquired by the defunct Directorate of Civil Aviation (DCA) in the early 1990s for construction of its headquarters.
The KCAA argued that Priority and Monene sold the land to Weston Hotel Limited in June 2007 at the "deliberately undervalued" price of Sh10 million.
The two firms, the agency claimed, then embarked on rapid construction without obtaining mandatory development approvals from relevant State regulatory agencies.
"They procured registration as owners of the land through illegality, fraud and corruption and forcibly evicted the DCA and its employees. They forcibly removed the DCA’s costly air navigation equipment and spares and dumped them at sites in Industrial Area and Athi River, causing their degradation from harsh exposure to the elements,” the petition stated.
The agency further said Weston deliberately failed to comply with its orders to stop construction, despite clear indications that the development posed a threat to air navigation at the adjacent Wilson Airport.
The authority has challenged NLC's decision on January 25, arguing it ignored the illegality and fraud allegedly perpetrated by the three companies.
"However, instead of ordering restitution of the land to KCAA and revocation of the registered titles due to illegal acquisition, the NLC purported to give effect to the same unlawfully acquired title,” the agency said.
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