Tag: Land fraud

  • Former MP Sammy Mwaita charged in Ksh150M land fraud case

    Former MP Sammy Mwaita charged in Ksh150M land fraud case

    Former Baringo Central MP Sammy Mwaita has been charged with multiple counts of fraud in a case involving the alleged illegal acquisition of land valued at Ksh150 million.

    Mwaita who is also a former Lands Commissioner is accused of fraudulently generating two title deeds for prime plots with the intent to dispossess the rightful owners, Rose Njoki King’au and Micugu Wagatharia.

    The prosecution heard that Mwaita, alongside his co-accused Brian Kiptoo Kiplangat, conspired on or before March 30, 2001 to fabricate title documents for Grant Title Land Reference No. 209/9968 IR No. 85847 without legal authority.

    The forged documents targeted a parcel referred to as Plot “A”, allegedly owned by King’au.

    Mwaita is also said to have unlawfully registered a second parcel, Plot “B”, in a similar manner, both transactions reportedly done without the knowledge or consent of the original landowners.

    While serving in public office, Mwaita is alleged to have abused his position by facilitating the registration of the disputed properties.

    He faces several charges, including conspiracy to commit a felony, abuse of office, making a document without authority, and giving false information to public officers.

    According to the prosecution, Mwaita misled investigators from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) in March 2020 by falsely claiming that the parcels were owned by S HABA TRUSTEES LIMITED, a claim he allegedly knew to be false.

    Appearing before Milimani Principal Magistrate Ben Mark Ekhubi, the ex-lawmaker denied all charges and was released on a bond of Ksh10 million or a cash bail of Ksh2 million, with two sureties.

    The magistrate issued summons for his co-accused, Kiplangat, to appear in court on Tuesday, August 5, for plea-taking.

  • Woman arraigned over alleged land fraud

    Woman arraigned over alleged land fraud

    A woman accused of fraudulently transferring land belonging to a private investment firm was on Monday arraigned before the Milimani Law Courts.

    Margaret Wairimu Magugu was charged with multiple counts including obtaining registration by false pretences, forgery, and uttering a false document in relation to the fraudulent transfer of a parcel of land owned by Wibeso Investment Limited.

    According to the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI), Wairimu allegedly acquired the land title in 2021 through deceit and subsequently transferred the property to Marg Ridge Estate Limited, a company linked to her.

    Detectives from the DCI’s Land Fraud Investigations Unit launched a probe following a complaint by Wibeso Investment Limited, which maintained that it had owned the parcel since October 26, 1995, and had never sold or transferred it.

    Investigations revealed that the suspect had presented a forged receipt indicating payment of Ksh824,733 as stand premium to fraudulently facilitate the land transfer.

    Additionally, a purported Notification of Approval (PPA2) allegedly obtained from the County Government of Kiambu for land subdivision was found to be fake.

    The case will be mentioned on July 30, 2025.