Auditor General Nancy Gathungu has raised alarm over the increasing encroachment on correctional facility lands across the country.
According to the report, issued in March 2025, Nancy Gathungu revealed that several parcels of land owned by various prisons have been unlawfully occupied by private individuals, despite previous directives and efforts to secure these lands.
Here are the prisons whose lands have been encroached.
Kitale Prison
At Kitale Prison, land ownership has long been a subject of legal disputes, leaving the prison’s land vulnerable to encroachment.
According to the audit’s report, the 2,321.09 hectares of land are currently occupied by unauthorized individuals despite the National Assembly’s Public Accounts Committee directing that the encroachers be evicted immediately and the land is fenced off.
Shimo la Tewa Prison
The latest report indicates that Shimo La Tewa Prison faces significant encroachment with 119.141 hectares of its land allocated to 77 private individuals without due process.
According to the Auditor General, the land was never de-gazetted as prison property, a clear violation of proper land management procedures.
Thika Prison
The land at Thika Prison, originally used as a quarry, spans over 120.45 hectares (297.63 acres), out of which 34.8 hectares (86 acres) have been illegally occupied by private individuals.
The Auditor General’s inspection revealed that there are currently five active cases relating to the ownership of the two parcels of land.
Nakuru Prison
Nakuru Prison land was gazetted in 1961 and registered with an original land size of 254.25 hectares (628 acres).
However, the audit report indicates that over the years, portions of the prison’s land have been unlawfully hived off and allocated to private developers, including churches and government institutions.
Narok Prison
The Auditor General revealed that Narok Prison has suffered both encroachment and vandalism.
The prison has lost parts of its land to private developers, who have erected permanent structures for commercial and residential purposes, in addition, the prison’s borehole was vandalized by developers who occupied land previously associated with the prison, cutting off its access to vital water resources.
Malindi Prison
Malindi Prison has been facing challenges in securing its land according to the audit report, the land is unsurveyed, and the two parcels that make up the prison’s land have not been consolidated.
One of the blocks is reportedly being occupied by an unknown number of illegal occupants, adding to the growing security and administrative concerns surrounding the prison’s land.
Shikusa Prison
The latest report indicates that at Shikusa Prison, the situation is further complicated by conflicts over land ownership.
The report indicates that there is an ongoing ownership of the land dispute involving the Prison, Kenya Forest Service and the local community, both the Kenya Forest Service and the locals claimed that the Prison had encroached onto the forest and were seeking relocation of the prison.
Kapsabet Prison
Kapsabet Prison has also encountered land disputes. Following a 2005 directive from the Chief Conservator of Forests, the prison ceased farming on forest land and was expected to cede the land to the Kenya Forest Service.
However, during the inspection of the Auditor General, it was discovered that the land previously owned by the prison had been subdivided and allocated to private individuals and other entities. The prison has yet to acquire a title deed for the remaining piece of land.
Kisumu Medium
Kisumu Medium Prison’s land has been surveyed, but the prison has not yet obtained title deeds for the parcels. Additionally, the land is not fenced off, allowing unauthorized individuals to trespass with some residents claimed that the land was their ancestral land allocated illegally to the Prison by the colonial government. Part of the Land has been encroached onto by private developers.
According to the Audit report, the prison was also allocated land measuring 1.646 hectares (4.0674 acres) in 1971 through Gazette Notice No. 721. However, the land has since been subdivided into three parcels and allocated to a church organization, a court, and private developers.
The subdivision of the land is currently under investigation by the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission to establish how the land was reallocated to the current owners.
Kibos Medium Prison
Nancy Gathungu’s latest report indicates that the land was surveyed but no title deed had been issued, adding that the Prison did not have a perimeter wall and a sugar company had trespassed on the Prison land and cut trees.
She further revealed that in the circumstances, the ownership, safeguarding and security of the Prisons’ land and other assets could not be confirmed.
These activities further compromise the integrity and security of the prison’s land.
