A bitter dispute over a large piece of land in Karen has now turned into one of the most puzzling and costly sagas in Kenya’s public project history. For more than twenty years, the country has been told that a major public hospital would rise on the 23-acre site.
The promise was bold, the blueprints looked impressive, and the funding was announced more than once. But despite all these years, nothing physical has ever appeared on the ground.
The land has remained untouched, covered only by grass and uncertainty, while billions of shillings have disappeared in the name of a project that never moved past the planning stage.
The situation has become even more confusing as new details continue to emerge. Investigators, government agencies, and private claimants have been locked in a long and complicated battle over who truly owns the land.
Instead of progress, each new step has brought more conflicting documents, more claims, and more unanswered questions. Files from different agencies do not match. Statements contradict each other. What should have been a straightforward public development has turned into a maze of forged papers, contested titles, and endless court fights.
Adding to the confusion, the Social Health Authority now wants an additional fifty million shillings to put up a perimeter fence around the same land.
This request has raised fresh concerns because the government itself is still unsure whether it legally owns the property. Many Kenyans are asking why public money should be used to fence land whose ownership has not been resolved.
The Authority argues that the money was set aside as part of its preparation for future construction, but critics wonder whether it makes sense to plan for a hospital when the land dispute is far from settled.
The claimants on the other side present a very different picture. One of them says he has lived on the land for more than forty years and insists his title deed is authentic. He believes he has been wronged for decades, and he accuses government agencies of ignoring his rights while trying to take over land that does not belong to them.
His presence on the property and his long history with it only add another layer of complexity to an already difficult situation.
The Directorate of Criminal Investigations continues to examine the matter, but the truth is still buried under conflicting records, missing documents, and years of mismanagement. Every attempt to solve the puzzle has led to more confusion, leaving the public frustrated and in the dark.
What remains clear is the painful reality that taxpayers are still paying for a hospital that exists only in speeches, files, and repeated promises. The land in Karen, once seen as a place of hope for better health services, has instead become a symbol of delays, unanswered questions, and money lost without results.
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