The National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF) risks losing a prime parcel of land worth Sh7 billion to a third party in the upmarket Karen Estate, MPs learnt on Wednesday.
The National Assembly’s Public Investments Committee on Social Services, Administration and Agriculture heard that a group, which had been claiming the 10-hectare piece of land in Karen, has cleared all land rent and rates to the Ministry of Lands and the County government of Nairobi.
Alex Wachira, NHIF chief executive, told the Navakholo MP Emanuel Wangwe-chaired committee that the NHIF had only paid land rent of Sh32,320 for the year to December 2023.
He said Peter David Leparaku, representative of a group claiming the land the NHIF bought for Sh93.7 million in 2002, paid the rent arrears of up to 2023.
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“We paid land rent on March 6, 2024, for 2023. We paid Sh32,320 through the National Bank of Kenya. We have not been paying land rent for the other prior years. One Peter David Leparaku has been paying,” Mr Wachira told the MPs.
“Our attempts to pay land rates to Nairobi County government has been unsuccessful because we have a statement from the county showing that Peter David Leparaku had already paid Sh514,350.’’
Mr Wachira said the county government had issued Mr Leparaku with payment receipts despite receiving similar payments from the NHIF for the said piece of land.
“We reported the matter to the Karen Police Station. Investigations are still on,” he said.
“We learned when we assumed office recently that no payments had been made between 2013 and 2023.”
The committee is inquiring into the status of ownership of the 10-acre prime land initially meant for constructing an NHIF Resource Centre but later earmarked for its Karen Medical Centre of Excellence project, which has not taken off 10 years down the line.
The fund paid the professionals hired in 2002 to design the Karen Resource Centre for construction on a 20-acre land whose ownership has been in dispute since 2004.
The Resource Centre was to be built in 2002, and the then chief executive commissioned consultants to do feasibility studies, drawings, and designs for the project.
“The construction of the resource Centre was yet to commence due to a lack of approval from the parent ministry and the land ownership dispute in court,” said Mr Wachira.
“However, the ownership of the land is in dispute, and the matter is in court.’’
Mr Wangwe last month led the committee on a fact-finding mission to the disputed land in Karen where NHIF and two other entities have laid claim.
The committee is currently investigating allegations of irregularities in loan issuance and cost inflation totalling billions of shillings at the NHIF.
The team was shocked to learn that the State agency had not fenced the land despite a 2016 court order ordering it to do so.
The MPs also learnt that the NHIF had failed to implement prior recommendations of the Public Investments Committee (PIC) to take possession of the land and erect a perimeter wall.
Mr Wangwe has invited the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) to shed light on the investigations of the ownership row.
Mr Wachira told the committee that efforts by the NHIF to take possession and fence off the land have been frustrated by a myriad of court suits instituted by the two claimants.
‘’Our security guards were arrested and directed not to set foot on the disputed land by police officers from Karen Police Station,’’ Mr Wachira said.
‘’Two businessmen were arrested and charged following the investigations by the DCI for attempting to take possession of our land and the matter is still in court.’’
Mr Wachira was also hard-pressed to explain the circumstances under which the NHIF paid Sh1.44 billion to architects and quantity surveyors for the construction of the multi-storey car park.
The NHIF spent Sh3.34 billion on the construction and completion of a multi-storey car park. The fund had initially agreed with a local construction firm for Sh909.7 million which was later revised to Sh1.18 billion.
The project commenced in May 2002 and was completed for Sh3.3 billion in July 2008.
By EDWIN MUTAI
