Starehe Boys’ Land Grabbed

Banker Mohamed Wehliye, an old boy of Starehe Boys Centre, has sounded off alarm bells after a private developer fenced off a section of the institution’s land in the Westlands area of Nairobi.

In a statement, Wehliye stated that the title to the parcel, which has been confirmed by Nairobi County and the National Land Commission (NLC) is held by the school.

Wehliye noted that a primary school named Bohra occupied the parcel in the upmarket estate and that a solution between the school and Starehe had been in the works after founding director the late Dr. Geoffrey William Griffin rejected the idea of ejecting a learning institution.

“Even though SBC owns the land, Dr Griffin was hesitant to evict an educational institution that was serving the community, the central banker noted. 

“An amicable solution was being sought over the years. Now a grabber has put a perimetre wall around the vacant part of the land and it is about to be stolen.” 

The move, if true, joins a list of other audacious attempts to grab public land by private developers in Nairobi, in most cases with the aid of top government officials.

Starehe Boys is a renowned institution with a history of good performance having produced men who serve in top positions in the private and public sectors.

Cases of land grabbing have been on the rise with Kenyans blaming corruption in the Lands Ministry and county governments.

Grabbers have been targeting empty spaces owned by public facilities such as schools, markets and hospitals as well as private property whose leases are about to expire.

Efforts to produce titles for the public amenities have bore little fruit. But even in instances where there are titles, some individuals collude with land officials to illegally transfer the parcels.

The grabbers have been targeting elderly couple in Westlands and Parklands among other upmarket areas as the race for high residential apartments gather pace.