New land transfer documents have intensified scrutiny over a controversial Parklands property at the centre of a legal and political dispute involving Mandera Governor Mohamed Adan Khalif, raising fresh questions over how land long associated with a public primary school shifted into private hands.
The dispute erupted after former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua accused the governor of benefiting from an alleged grab of land historically used by North Highridge Primary School, now targeted for a high-end apartment development in one of Nairobi’s most valuable suburbs.
Governor Khalif has dismissed the allegations as politically motivated. He maintains that the land was privately owned long before he entered public office and that he lawfully acquired it from a private seller in 2020. He further says his role is limited to a later joint-venture arrangement with a developer and that the matter is now before court.
Ironically, Land transfer records now circulating in court complicate that account. For instance,the documents show that the land, identified as L.R. No. 209/21526 (formerly L.R. No. 12673), was transferred from Richard Maoka Maore to Mohamed Adan Khalif on 5th February 2021 for a stated consideration of Sh140 million.
The transaction purports to transfer a leasehold interest to the governor. But the document itself contains several anomalies: We managed to analyze the documents and found the following errors that directs the entire scenario to land Fraud and Forgery.
To be specific, Key entries, including the transfer date, appear handwritten.
Portions of the form contain question marks and marginal notes.One copy bears a handwritten annotation reading “Fake!!”.
The section meant to confirm registration and sealing by the Land Registrar appears incomplete or unclear, raising doubt as to whether the transfer was formally registered.
Stamp duty impressions visible on the document also appear inconsistent with a transaction valued at Sh140 million, a discrepancy that may raise questions over compliance with statutory requirements.
Under the Kenyan land law, a signed transfer does not confer ownership unless it is registered at the Lands Registry, our survey yesterday showed.
For Records,
Court filings place the disputed land within a longer history involving North Highridge Primary School, a public institution that has occupied land in Parklands since the early 1970s.
Records before court indicate that the school repeatedly sought title to about 8.5 acres of land from 1972, but the process stalled for decades at the Ministry of Lands.
In 2018, the area was re-surveyed together with neighbouring parcels.
Correspondence cited in the case shows that the then Deputy Director of Lands, S. G. Mwangi, wrote to the Chief Land Registrar seeking re-issuance of titles following the survey.
The records indicate that:
The portion occupied by North Highridge Primary School was to be registered in the name of Nairobi City County Government.
The adjacent parcel emerged as private land under Richard Maoka Maore, who later transferred it to Governor Khalif in 2021.
It is this transition from long-standing public use to private ownership that has fuelled accusations of land grabbing. And the land as per our investigations belongs to the school.
Governor Khalif said he purchased the land in 2020 from a private owner. The transfer document, however, indicates that the transaction was executed in February 2021, creating a discrepancy in the ownership timeline.
While the governor maintains that he only entered into a development partnership in 2025, the conversion of the land into a property capable of supporting a multi-storey development appears to have been enabled earlier through the re-survey and title re-issuance process.
The Parklands dispute has now become a test case on the fate of public land tied to learning institutions in Nairobi.
Critics argue it demonstrates how school land can remain untitled for decades and later be absorbed into private registries during technical processes such as re-surveys.
More information indicates that, the land historically associated with a public school is now tied to a private transfer valued at Sh140 million.
The legality of the ownership claim will be determined by the Environment and Land Court and official registry records.
As the case heads for full hearing, the dispute is shaping up as another chapter in Nairobi’s long-running land battles, with implications for school property, public land protection and political accountability.