Auditor-General Nancy Gathungu has raised concerns over Sh4 billion worth of idle properties owned by the National Social Security Fund (NSSF) within Nairobi’s central business district (CBD), warning that the assets risk being grabbed.
Ms Gathungu blamed NSSF management for the imprudent handling of pension savings, noting that at least five prime properties in the CBD have remained idle.
‘The balance includes five properties located within Nairobi’s CBD, valued at Sh4,022,000,000 as at June 30, 2025. The properties remained idle during the year under review, contrary to Section 1.5.2 of the Fund Investment Policy Statement, 2020, which requires that assets be structured and invested in a prudent manner at all times,’ she said.
The idle assets account for about 11.3 percent of the Sh35.4 billion property portfolio owned by the public pension fund. The Auditor-General noted that management had breached the law by allowing the properties to remain unused and that ‘beneficial ownership of the properties could not be confirmed’.
The concerns were raised even as NSSF management admitted to facing legacy challenges, including cases where previous officials were duped into buying public land that had been irregularly allocated to private individuals.
Speaking during the fund’s annual general meeting on Friday, NSSF chief executive officer Charles Koros said some title deeds held by the fund were effectively ‘worthless papers’, as the parcels purchased belonged to other public entities.
‘We have a big challenge because some of the titles for the land holdings we have are just mere pieces of paper. Some of the properties we have are on forest land, we have two on Ngong Road, others on road reserves along Jogoo Road, and many other issues,’ Mr Koros said.
In the audit for the year to June 2025, Ms Gathungu also queried the revocation of a title deed irregularly issued to the NSSF after it bought a Sh115 million plot of land from a private developer in Upper Hill, Nairobi.
‘However, the title deed was revoked through Kenya Gazette Notice No. 3460 of April 1, 2010 on the grounds that, although the title was allocated and issued to a private developer, the parcel had been reserved for public purposes in accordance with the Constitution, the Government Land Act (Cap 280) and the Trust Land Act (Cap 288),’ she said.
The NSSF is still contesting the matter in court.
Mr Koros also admitted that the fund was duped into purchasing land belonging to Kenya Prisons in Eldoret, which it now plans to compensate.
‘Court rulings are also another pain point. They are always going against us because we never exercised prudent investment way back,’ the NSSF CEO said.