Kenya Railways begins repossession of ‘grabbed’ assets for SGR extension

Kenya Railways has embarked on a re-possession exercise of what it says are grabbed facilities as the construction of Phase 2B of the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) from Naivasha Internal Container Depot to Malaba via Kisumu gets underway.

Some of the assets targeted for reclamation include container freight stations situated in Mombasa and Kisumu, with the Kenya Railways management stating that the reclaimed facilities will be vital for providing logistical operations during and after construction of the SGR extension.

Container freight stations situated at Mbaraki area, in Mombasa are among facilities Kenya Railways aims to repossess to install heavy hardware and machinery for construction of the 475-kilometer extension of the SGR Phase 2B and 2C, extending from Naivasha to Malaba via Kisumu.

The construction work, which is set to commence by August 2025, will cost more than Ksh.648 billion and will take four years to complete.

According to Kenya Railways management, vacation notices have already been issued to entities on either grabbed or leased facilities with the corporation finalizing on compensation arrangements for genuine landowners who will be affected by the SGR Phase 2B & 2C extension.

Justus Ouko, a senior legal officer at Kenya Railways, says: "You can see bulldozers already on site here in Mbaraki. Those with genuine titles we exclude but we are targeting contentious acquisitions from persons claiming to have owned properties belonging to Kenya Railways."

According to Kenya Railways, one such facility earmarked for demolition and repossession is the Kencont Container Freight Station whose landlord company is Josgid Limited.

"Kenya Railways is repossessing all its grabbed property. If Kencont has a title then they should explain who sold them the property because it’s not Kenya Railways," said Mr. Ouko.

However, Kencont CFS says it is only a rightful tenant and not the landlord of the land targeted by Kenya Railways for re-possession.

Eva Odongo Kencont Logistics Services’ Group Legal Manager says: "We are just occupants, tenants, not landlords. We have been paying our dues since 2002. The landlord I am sure has been paying land rates."

Already, a Chinese delegation, led by Xi Li, Secretary of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, has held a closed-door preliminary project assessment meeting with senior government officials in preparation for the significant infrastructure project.

The multi-billion shilling SGR extension is among the key projects resulting from bilateral agreements between Kenya and China, which were established during President William Ruto's visit to the Asian nation.

The SGR extension to Malaba is part of the East African Railway Master Plan, which aims to replace existing Meter-Gauge Railways in Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania, with further extensions planned for Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.