A section of the Expressway road project. PHOTO/PIXELS.
By SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT
A suit filed before the Environment and Land Court at Milimani in Nairobi has revealed how a Nairobi businesswoman, Ms Roseline Njeri Macharia, was paid more than Sh 1.9 billion for the Nairobi Expressway road project compensation, on a disputed property where the road is alleged not to have even passed.
The suit opens a pandaro’s box on a murky web of compensation claims in which the National land Commission (NLC) and other government oversight agencies saw billions of shillings earmarked for displaced institutions and landowners diverted into the pockets of politically connected individuals and firms.
Court documents and testimonies now suggest that as much as Sh24 billion set aside for land compensation and related claims became a conduit for enrichment of insiders in former President Uhuru Kenyatta’s administration.
At the centre of this storm is a controversial Sh1.9 billion payout to Ms Macharia, popularly known as Mama Mitumba; a woman whose claim to City Cabanas Club land on which the Expressway is alleged have passed remains hotly contested.
The contested payment to Ms Macharia concerns land on which the well-known City Cabanas Club stands along Mombasa Road. The property, according to court filings, was compulsorily acquired by the government to pave way for the Expressway Road Project.
For this, she was compensated in two tranches: Sh1,647,277,792 for four hectares land on which City Cabanas is located, and Sh273,475,167 for improvements said to have been made on the Cabanas car park.
Yet almost immediately, questions arose. Independent checks reveal that the Expressway did not pass inside the club’s land, nor did it interfere with the car park for which nearly Sh275 million was paid.
Suit documents indicate that the Expressway road project did not even pass through the City Cabanas Club as alleged in the compensation documents. This apparent discrepancy has raised red flags, fuelling suspicions that this compensation was not only grossly inflated or was entirely unjustified.
The payment was also controversial for another reason: ownership of the land was subject to an active dispute in court. Simandi Investment Ltd and its shareholders, Simion Nyamanya Ondiba and Mary Ondiba, insist they are the rightful owners of the land and had already alerted the National Land Commission (NLC) to stop from making any payout to Ms Macharia.
It is not clear how the NLC, together with the Kenya National Highways Authority (KENHA), and the Chief Land Registrar, authorised the transfer of funds in apparent disregard of the sub judice principle.
At the heart of this case lies Mr Ondiba, a businessman who claims to have lawfully purchased the disputed land from the Kenya National Chamber of Commerce and Industry in July 1994 for Sh 60 million.
The City Cabanas Club. PHOTO/UGC.
He maintains that the property, registered as LR 209/11293/1, was subsequently subdivided into two parcels; LR 209/21698 (2.964 hectares) and LR 209/21699 (0.725 hectares); with new title deeds issued under Simandi Investment Ltd, a company he and his wife Mary direct.
Armed with title deeds, subdivision records and a chain of registration documents, Mr Ondiba insists he has the superior claim on City Cabanas land.
He argues that by the time the NLC initiated compulsory acquisition, the original parcel 209/11293/1 no longer legally existed, having been sub-divided years earlier. In his view, the commission ought to have discovered this fact by simply consulting the land registry.
His attempts to assert ownership, however, have led him into what he describes as a “deliberate trap.” He has faced multiple criminal charges for land fraud and uttering false documents; charges he insists are meant to frustrate his pursuit of justice.
In 2016, he was charged in Criminal Case 2067/2016, but was acquitted in January 2022, the court finding no basis for the allegations. Yet, in what he terms a blatant breach of the constitutional protection against double jeopardy, he was re-arrested and charged afresh in Case MCCR/22/21 over the same property.
Despite these obstacles, he has kept up his legal fight. In Environment and Land Court Case ELC 1035/2016, he sought a permanent injunction against Ms Macharia, a case that remains active. His latest certificate of urgency warns that unless the matter is heard expeditiously, the government stands to lose Sh1.9 billion to an illegitimate claim.
What makes the City Cabanas payout even more troubling is the speed and opacity with which it was handled. According to banking records, part of the Sh1.9 billion deposited into Ms Macharia’s accounts was withdrawn almost instantly, fuelling suspicions that the funds were quickly redistributed among influential figures.
Multiple sources allege the money was carved up among Cabinet Secretaries, Principal Secretaries, senior security officials, and key operatives within the NLC and KENHA, all close to the heart of Uhuru Kenyatta’s government.
For observers, this is symptomatic of a deeper malaise: a system where public infrastructure projects become vehicles for elite capture. While the Expressway Road Project itself was financed by the China Road and Bridge Corporation through a public-private partnership, the compensation scheme became a lucrative sideline for insiders.
The City Cabanas payout is not an isolated case. Documents reveal a long list of firms and institutions that received eye-watering sums under the Expressway compensation programme.
Among the biggest beneficiaries include Trustees of Kenya Railways Corporation Retirement Benefits Scheme Sh 7.9 billion. This is particularly galling given that many retired railway workers continue to languish without their pensions.
A panoramic view of the Expressway road project. PHOTO/PINTEREST
Kenya Railways Corporation, Sh3.4 billion for three hectares. A company known only as TED, Sh1.9 billion for two hectares. Kompar Investments, Sh1.1 billion for 0.9416 hectares. Kenya Police Sports Association Trustees, Sh1.1 billion.
Aggarwal General Trading Ltd (Cliffton Park owners), Sh854 million. University of Nairobi, Sh900 million for 0.4323 hectares. Ministry of Housing and Social Services, Sh169 million for 0.104 hectares. Kenya Broadcasting Corporation, Sh33 million for 0.0169 hectares.
In addition, dozens of private individuals and entities; some identified only by initials, were compensated. These include: Garage and Construction Company Sh7 million for improvements.
TBD Sh90 million for four parcels measuring 0.26 hectares in total. Tenant Spirax Sacco – Sh6.4 million. Tenant CCFC – Sh19 million for improvements. Tenant STHL – Sh7.7 million. Tenant ABB – Sh9 million.
More than 40 other entities and individuals received payments for alleged loss of profits. Intriguingly, many of these names never appeared in the Kenya Gazette notice of 4 September 2020, which had listed parties entitled to compensation. This suggests additional claims may have been smuggled into the process after the official publication, a possible breach of procedure.
How could such massive sums be disbursed in the face of clear ownership disputes and valuation inconsistencies? Analysts point to weaknesses within the National Land Commission and its interaction with other agencies.
The NLC is mandated to verify ownership claims and ensure fair compensation for compulsory acquisitions. In this case, it appears to have acted with disregard for due diligence.
Critics argue that the commission relied heavily on claimants’ representations rather than conducting independent checks with the land registry. This allowed questionable claims—such as those of Ms Macharia over the Cabanas land—to sail through despite the existence of pending court cases.
Equally concerning is the role of oversight bodies. The EACC, which was aware of the dispute, did not intervene to halt payment. Nor did KENHA, the project implementing agency, or the Chief Land Registrar, whose office is custodian of title records. Instead, all appear to have facilitated the disbursement.
Mr Ondiba’s filings to the High Court include not just title deeds but also Kenya Gazette notices. He points to notices No. 6601 and 6602, which announced compulsory acquisition of LR 209/11293/1 for Sh1.9 billion.
According to him, this was impossible: the parcel no longer existed, having been subdivided years earlier. Furthermore, the Expressway itself never touched the land. “Not even an inch,” he says emphatically.
He also highlights Ms Macharia’s failure to disclose the existence of active litigation over ownership. Article 10 of the Constitution, he argues, requires parties to act in good faith and with integrity when engaging with public institutions. By withholding the information, she violated this duty.
A section of the Nairobi expressway, a 27.1km road from Mlolongo passing through Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) and Nairobi’s CBD to the James Gichuru junction along Waiyaki Way. PHOTO/UGC.
Mr Ondiba alleges that Ms Macharia and entities linked to her—including Cabanas Park, Consumer Link Communications Ltd, Audio Visuals Concepts, and Garage/Construction Company—illegally pocketed Sh1,937,772,479 in total.
The Expressway saga fits a broader pattern of land compensation scandals that have haunted major infrastructure projects in Kenya. From the Standard Gauge Railway to bypass roads, inflated valuations and dubious ownership claims have siphoned billions of shillings from the public purse.
In each case, politically connected individuals emerge as beneficiaries while ordinary landowners struggle through opaque bureaucracies to receive modest payments.
For Kenya Railways pensioners, the contrast is especially stark. Even as their retirement scheme received Sh7.9 billion in Expressway compensation, many continue to wait for basic pension dues.
“It is a cruel irony,” says one former worker, “that money was flowing in billions, but the people who served the corporation for decades cannot even buy food.”
The revelations surrounding the Sh24 billion Expressway compensation scheme expose not just individual acts of corruption but systemic failures in Kenya’s land acquisition process. Institutions meant to safeguard public resources; NLC, KENHA, EACC and the land registry either looked the other way or actively facilitated payouts despite glaring irregularities.
At the centre of it all stands the Sh1.9 billion paid to Roseline Njeri Macharia, a businesswoman celebrated for her pioneering role in the second-hand clothes trade, but now embroiled in a scandal that raises fundamental questions about how Kenya manages public compensation.
For Mr Ondiba, the fight is deeply personal, a battle to reclaim land he insists is his by right, and to prevent billions from vanishing into the pockets of the powerful. For Kenyans, it is a sobering reminder of how easily mega projects can become vehicles for plunder when institutions fail in their oversight role.
Until the courts pronounce themselves definitively on ownership, and until accountability mechanisms are enforced, the Expressway Road Project will remain not just a highway of modernisation, but also a symbol of how billions meant for public good can be hijacked for private gain.
