Presidential candidate denies grabbing public land

Presidential candidate Joe Nyagah has refuted claims that he illegally acquired two pieces of land in Kanyakwar, Kisumu County as published in a local daily.

Through a post on his official campaign facebook page, Nyagah says he bought the land from the defunct Kisumu Municipal Council and paid for it in full.

“I bought the land referenced in the front page Daily Nation article of July 27, 2017 from the Municipality of Kisumu and paid for it in full. As a nationalist, President Nyagah had always wanted to own land in the beautiful city of Kisumu and believed that it was very important to show that Kenyans can and should happily be able to own land every and anywhere in this great country,” Nyaga posted.

The former Cooperative Development Minister in the Grand Coalition government further says that he is consulting his attorneys on the issue that might derail his presidential ambitions.

“If indeed Kisumu Municipality sold the land to me illegally, I am extremely disappointed, especially as I have been paying my land rates regularly and dutifully every year to date. Given this fact, I am consulting with my lawyers to see what appropriate action to take with regards to the matter,” he added.

Nyaga is among popular politicians and businessmen whose land tittles were revoked by the National Land Commission (NLC) in a cleanup of land records across the country.

Through a Gazette Notice on July 2017 NLC chairperson, Mohammed Swazuri, said the commission carried out a thorough review of its records after complaints from the public, national government and county governments.