How Ali Punjani sold 40,000 acres in Lamu for 870m, alongside Mombasa Governor Ali Hassan Joho, Nairobi Senator Gideon Mbuvi alias Sonko and Kiambu Governor William Kabogo — and a Gulbani B. Punjani

National Land Commission chair Mohammed Swazuri

(right), commission vice chair Abigael Mbagaya (center)

and commissioner John Kanyimbi (left) during NLC

public hearing at the KICC, Nairobi

By Geoffrey Mosoku Updated Thursday, August 21st 2014 

Mombasa businessman Ali Punjani has been mentioned adversely over the Lamu land saga, after documents showed that he sold one of the controversial parcels for approximately Sh870 million ($10 million). The buyers allegedly never set foot on the land before buying it, but only surveyed it by helicopter. Mr Punjani, whom the police cleared of drug trafficking allegations — alongside Mombasa Governor Ali Hassan Joho, Nairobi Senator Gideon Mbuvi alias Sonko and Kiambu Governor William Kabogo — and a Gulbani B. Punjani, are allegedly directors in Rising Star Commodities, which transferred 40,140 acres (16,200ha) to Calyon Enterprises.

Owners of Calyon then used the document to secure Sh870 million from Diamond Trust Bank to pay Rising Star. Details of the bizarre transaction emerged yesterday in Nairobi on the first day of a public inquiry by the National Land Commission (NLC) into the controversial allocation of 500,000 acres of public land in Lamu to 22 private companies that President Uhuru Kenyatta ordered revoked, citing the deals as irregular. The charge on the property by the bank was registered at the Ministry of Lands on the November 21, 2013. Calyon’s directors who signed the transfer agreements are listed as Nazlin Mohamed and Aisha Nathoo. See also: NLC starts reviewing Lamu land documents The parcel was earlier allocated to Rusken International Limited, who then transferred it to Rising Star on February 8, 2013. Calyon’s lawyer Aisha Abdallah told the NLC that her clients had purchased the property after conducting due diligence. Asked by the commissioners if the buyers physically visited the site before purchasing the land, she replied that her clients made an aerial surveillance using a helicopter. She also indicated that she was not sure if a current valuation had been done to ascertain the price of the property and if she was aware whether there were people living there. “I have not been there and I don’t not want to mislead the commission, but if you won’t mind, my client is flying in from Mombasa and can come to respond to some of those questions,” Ms Aisha told the commission at the Kenyatta International Convention Centre. Rusken International limited was registered on 2nd July 2007 with Farouk Hamid and Hussein Hamid as directors. It has never filed returns to the registrar of companies’ since then. Documents presented from the Ministry of Lands indicated that the Office of the President and Lamu West MP Julius Ndegwa at one stage of the process approved the allotments.

PUBLIC APOLOGY
Former Lamu County Commissioner Samuel Ikua chaired a District Development Committee meeting that recommended the allocation to Rusken and wrote the Commissioner of Lands to inform him of the resolution. Ndegwa, who was then a councillor, seconded minutes of the council meeting that resolved to allocate the land originally given to Mat international to three other companies which include Rusken. “Resolution No. 51CCL/2011 resolved as follows; the land be leased to three companies,” reads part of the minutes forwarded to the then Minister for Lands James Orengo. Yesterday, one of the firms adversely mentioned, Brick Investment, through lawyer Wangui Kimani, demanded a public apology from the commission after she denied her clients had been allocated part of the 500,000 acres under investigation. However, NLC chairman Muhammad Swazuri (above) said the commission will investigate the directorship of three companies which share a similar name and may have led to the confusion. They are: Brick Investment, Brick Investments and Bricks Investments, who will appear before the commission next Thursday.