Ex-MP Mwau, police clash over Nairobi land

Businessman and former Kilome Member of Parliament, John Harun Mwau, is now at the centre of a controversy over a five-acre piece of land in Nairobi’s Kilimani estate.

Mwau is facing a legal battle with the police over the ownership of the piece of land that is adjacent to Kilimani Police Station and valued at Ksh 400 million.

The former MP, through his lawyer, claims the land is his and that he is in possession of documents to prove the ownership.

On the other hand, police argue that the land was irregularly acquired and the matter is already being investigated by the relevant authorities including the National Land Commission (NLC), the Ministry of Land and the land divisions at the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI).

On Saturday, August 27, armed police, led by Kilimani OCPD Peter Katam, chased away construction workers from the site after they tried erecting a fence around the contested land.

The former MP later drove to the police station where he lodged a complaint saying that his life was in danger.

“He came and claimed that his life was in danger because police want to grab his land and had chased away his workers. He also demanded that police bosses stop harassing him,” said the police boss.

Mwau claims that he bought the land in the year 1981.

Abdallah Komesha, the Head of the Lands Division at DCI headquarters, says that he summoned the former MP over the tussle but Mwau, through his lawyer, requested that the summon be moved to October.

The land in question, according to police, has been allocated for the expansion of the police station and will feature the first modern station that accommodates facilities including a referral medical unit, a family protection section and a resource centre, all set for completion by June 2018.

The construction of a four-storey police station in Kilimani will start in January next year after the police and the Chinese Embassy signed an agreement in Nairobi in July this year.

The new facility, fully funded by the Chinese Government and the Kenya Private Sector Alliance (KEPSA) will cost Ksh500 million.

The new station has been designed to enhance the working environment and to meet increasing demand for police services by the public.