A parliamentary committee has uncovered serious problems in the long-running fight over the large Miwani Sugar Mills land in Kisumu.
The 9,394-acre estate has been at the centre of claims and counter-claims for years, and a recent report lays bare how the property appears to have changed hands through irregular steps.
The National Assembly’s Departmental Committee on Lands, led by North Mugirango MP Joash Nyamache, examined Public Petition No. 28 of 2025.
The report, tabled in late August, points to a chain of questionable actions that allowed a company called Crossley Holdings Limited to claim ownership.
At the heart of the story is a man named Nagendra Saxena. He filed a case in 1993 claiming the sugar company owed him money. Investigators later found no clear evidence that this person ever existed.
Efforts by security agencies and immigration officials to locate him in Kenya or India turned up nothing. He became known as a ghost plaintiff.
From that case came a court order that ordered the land sold. Court officials later said the order was forged. The original case file could not even be found in the court records.
On Christmas Eve in 2007, the land was put up for auction and Crossley Holdings emerged as the buyer. A provisional title was later issued in a way that broke normal land rules.
Courts higher up the system later ruled that the whole sale was invalid and that the land still belonged to the sugar company.
Criminal charges were brought against several people linked to the process, though the ownership dispute never fully ended.
The committee’s findings describe a mix of court manipulation, missing records and later efforts by government offices that seemed to favour the private claim. Local residents and some lawmakers have long insisted the land was meant for public sugar production and should remain under state control.
The report adds fresh pressure for clear action so that such a valuable public asset is not lost through irregular means.
The matter continues to draw attention as officials weigh the next steps.
