The Assistant Deputy Land Administrator Andrew Aseri Kirungu is in prison custody following his arrest in Kandara, Murang’a County and subsequent arraignment before Milimani Chief Magistrates’ Court on Dec 22, 2023 where he faced charges of Conspiracy to defraud, procuring registration of land by false pretence and abuse of office.
The Ministry of Lands officer is charged alongside former Provincial Commissioner Davis Nathan Chelogoi, after criminal investigations found them culpable of land fraud involving a Ksh 1.3 billion parcel of land located at Nairobi’s Loresho area.
In the case that has trudged on the corridors of justice since 2009 involving a 7.390 hactares parcel of land, several parties lay claim of the property Title Land Reference (LR) No.18485 I.R. No.64011/1 with Deed Plan No.176003 dated August 19, 1993.
In the same year (2009), Ashok Ruphi Shah and Hitenkumar Amritlal Raja filed a complaint at the Chief Magistrate’s Court in Nairobi against the late Jacob Juma accusing him of forcefully occupying their land (the one in question) after obtaining forged documents from the ministry of lands.
The case was investigated independently by the Kenya Anti-Corruption Commission (KACC- currently EACC) and the DCI, before the Director of Public Prosecution entered a Nolle prosequi the same year.
Jacob Juma filed a High Court Petition No. 652 of 2009 while the complainants filed a civil suit No. ELC 312 of 2009 against him (Juma), the then Commissioner of Lands and the Registrar of Titles.
Ultimately, in his judgement dated and delivered on 28th July 2022, Justice L. Komingoi declared that “…..the plaintiffs are the legal owners of LR. No.18485 I.R. No.64011 Loresho, Nairobi, Kenya”.
The plaintiffs being Ashok Rupshi Shah and Hitenkumar Amritlal Raja versus Jacob Juma and two others in Milimani Environment and Land Court. Subsequently the court issued a decree on the same.
The court’s decision was upheld by the Chief Land Registrar through a three-member panel of land registrars who inspected the plaintiffs’ documents.
Meanwhile, Davis Nathan Chelogoi laid claim of the land through a certificatC of Title Land Reference No. 18485 issued to him on 4th June, 2021.
Chelogoi went ahead to provide a Letter of Allotment dated 31st January, 1995 for unsurveyed land in Lower Kabete, which he alleged to have been allotted to him by the late former President Daniel Toroitich arap Moi while serving as the Deputy Provincial Commissioner in Rift Valley.
However, investigations by DCI’s Land Fraud Investigations Unit found his letter of acceptance for the alleged allotment to have been dated 13th February, 1992 with the first name as ‘David’ and not Davis.
Further, investigation of the correspondence file used by witnesses in the civil suit No. ELC 312 held by the Ministry of Lands revealed that the same had either gone missing or destroyed, as stated by the Director Land Administration Gordon Odeka Ochieng who was a witness in the case.
Further probe into the claims by Davis Chelogoi established that the Assistant Deputy Land Administrator, Kirungu, registered the Loresho land in favour of the former PC, indicating that he had no knowledge of previous records that favored Ashok and Hitenkumar (the owners) through purchase and transfer on 23rd January, 2007 and 21st March, 2007 respectively from the previous owners; Liney Company Limited.
However, detectives found that on April 30th, 2021 Aseri had influenced the Deed Plan Officer at Surveys of Kenya to certify the Deed Plan for the land dated August 19, 1993, and the In Charge Reference Index Mapping (RIM) to provide a copy of the Deed Plan.
Further anomalies that proved a well-orchestrated conspiracy to defraud the original owners of their land {bought from Liney Company Ltd (the vendor) at Ksh 33 million as supported by a January 23, 2007 Sale Agreement} include the production of a file card No. 323709 purportedly used to open in the name of Davis Nathan Chelogoi, but which upon search was found to belong to a parcel No. BLK5/74 registered in the names of Isaac Macharia and situated in Kitale and not Nairobi.
Confronted by the establishments and the DPP’s decision and directive that the two be charged in a criminal court, Chelogoi went into hiding and a warrant of his arrest has since been issued.
His accomplice is, however, in the confines of the law’s arm awaiting ruling on his bond application three days after Christmas.
