Con men sell minister’s Athi River land for Sh23m

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File | NATION Last month, lawyers protested against corruption at the Lands ministry. One of their members is now in court over the sale of Justice minister Mutula Kilonzo’s land in Athi River. He is accused, among others, of forging land documents.  

By PAMELA CHEPKEMEI pjepkemei@ke.nationmedia.com
Posted  Saturday, August 20  2011 at  22:00

IN SUMMARY

• Mr Kilonzo did not know his five-acre land had been sub-divided into 31 plots of one eighth acre each

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Justice minister Mutula Kilonzo is one of the victims of the irregular land deals in Athi River area in the outskirts of Nairobi.

Four people have been charged in court with obtaining Sh23 million from a businessman on pretence that they were in a position to sell a five-acre piece of land owned by the minister and his wife in Syokimau.

A second piece of land owned by the minister and his wife in Syokimau has also been the target of con men who have sub-divided and sold it.

The incident has been reported to police who are conducting investigations. The minister discovered recently that his five-acre piece of land had been sub-divided into 31 plots measuring one eighth of an acre each. The fraudsters had already sold 22 plots and were in the process of disposing of the remaining nine when the scandal was discovered.

The deals were exposed when transactions on the five-acre farm sold for Sh23 million to an unsuspecting buyer were at the final stage. The buyer had contacted Mr Kilonzo Mutula Junior, a son of the minister, who is an advocate, to act for him in the land deal.

The minister’s son was shocked to learn that the land held through his father’s company, Mai Mani Ltd, had been sold without their knowledge. After investigations four people, including the lawyer who acted for the two people who sold the land, were arrested and charged in court.

The lawyer and the four others have been charged with obtaining money by false pretences.

They allegedly obtained Sh23 million from Adpro Ltd by pretending they were in a position to sell a parcel of land owned by Mr Kilonzo in Mavoko municipality.

The lawyer faces a separate charge of forging a grant purporting it to be a genuine one issued by the Registrar of Titles in Nairobi.

He is further accused of possessing documents resembling Kenyan identification cards. The case was set for hearing on Thursday but the lawyer did not turn up in court. The trial magistrate, Ms Lucy Nyambura, was informed that he was unwell.

The hearing was deferred to October 18.

The director of Adpro Ltd, Mr Enock Kinara, was scheduled to testify as the first prosecution witness. The Government recently suspended all land transactions in Athi River area.

The Permanent Secretary for Internal Security and Provincial Administration, Mr Francis Kimemia, warned the public against buying land in the affected areas until outstanding issues are resolved.

He ordered that developments and construction on all disputed parcels in the area be put on hold.

The PS announced that a task force to investigate rising cases of irregular land deals had been launched.

He asked those who suspect they have bought land which was irregularly acquired to report to the police and the task force for investigation.

According to the Commissioner for Lands, Mr Zablon Mabea, six cases have been filed in court while another 13 on land fraud had been reported to the ministry in a week.

The commissioner said he was working with the Criminal Investigations Department.

On July 11, lawyers and the Kenya Anti-Corruption Authority held a demonstration at the Ministry of Lands to protest inefficiency and corruption.

Lands PS Dorothy Angote admitted corruption was rampant in the department but assured the lawyers that the ministry was doing its best to address the problem.

She said reforms had begun and land registries countrywide would be refurbished and fitted with electronic equipment to detect fake titles.