Court stops Kenya Railways works on Lang’ata land as Wamatangi-linked firms seek KSh14bn

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The Environment and Land Court has stopped Kenya Railways Corporation from doing any more construction on a disputed plot near Nyayo National Stadium in Nairobi, where four companies linked to Kiambu Governor Kimani Wamatangi are claiming more than KSh14bn in damages.

Justice Oscar Angote barred Kenya Railways, the police and other respondents from further construction, excavation, development or alteration on the 0.5723-hectare parcel off Lang’ata Road until the companies’ petition is heard and decided. The hearing is set for December 3, 2026.

Who the companies are

The four firms named in the ruling are Superclean Shine Enterprise Ltd, King Prime International Ltd, Prime The Place Ltd and Prime Auto and General Enterprises Ltd. The court identified Mr Wamatangi as a director of King Prime International.

The order also protects machinery, rollers and other equipment the companies left on the site. They may remove that equipment if they want to, but the ruling does not let them move back onto the land or restart business there before the case is decided.

What the KSh14bn claim is made of

King Prime says it leased the land from Kenya Railways on May 2, 2001, for 99 years, and that it occupied the plot and paid rent for more than 25 years. Structures on the site were pulled down on the night of January 13 into January 14, 2026.

The companies say the site held a car yard, car wash, garage, restaurant, carpet-cleaning business, small hotels, M-Pesa shops and a barber shop, and that it supported more than 150 direct jobs and about 500 indirect ones.

Their claim breaks down as follows:

• KSh300m for the demolished structures
• KSh100m for destroyed motor vehicles and trucks
• KSh200m for construction equipment
• KSh150m for goods and property stored in containers
• KSh13.32bn in lost rental income for the 74 years left on the lease they say they hold

Lost future rent makes up almost all of the bill. The firms are also asking for general, aggravated and punitive damages, a permanent injunction, and orders holding three public officials personally liable and removing them from office.

Kenya Railways says the lease is not valid

Kenya Railways disputes the lease. It argues that the document was improperly executed, carried no corporate seal and did not follow its standard terms, and that the land sits within a railway safety reserve. The corporation says the companies were lawfully evicted.

The state corporation is building a railway station on the site to serve Talanta Stadium and Nyayo National Stadium ahead of the Africa Cup of Nations, which Kenya co-hosts in 2027. It told the court the station is due for completion in January 2027 and that each day of delay costs about KSh5m.

That puts the corporation in a tight spot. A stop order that runs to the December 3 hearing and beyond could eat into the time left before the tournament, at a time when rail projects are already under pressure over money, from SGR fares held in escrow to the rising cost of the Malaba extension.

Why the judge ruled this way

The ruling was mixed for the companies. Justice Angote declined to review his July 9 decision, which had lifted earlier orders protecting the land, because the firms had not told the court that a parallel case in the magistrates’ court had already been struck out.

He still granted fresh protection on the merits. He found that the companies had shown a strong case and that Kenya Railways had not denied it planned to keep building. The judge stressed that he was not deciding whether the lease is valid, fraudulent or unenforceable; that question will be argued at the full hearing.

The dispute has dragged on all year. In March, Mr Wamatangi’s lawyers went back to court seeking to have Kenya Railways cited for contempt, saying works had continued despite orders issued on March 11, and the court’s deputy registrar visited the site along Douglas Wakiihuri Road to check.

For commuters, the planned station would add a rail link to the stadium area off Lang’ata Road. Travellers who use the long-distance line can see current fares and booking steps in our guide to booking SGR tickets online.