Court ruling on William Ruto land case set for Friday

By Isaiah Lucheli

Kenya: The High Court is Friday expected to deliver a ruling on a land dispute pitting Deputy President William Ruto against a farmer.

High Court judge Rose Ougo is set to rule on the ownership dispute of a 100-acre parcel of land.

The Deputy President told the court he was a victim of fraud whereas the complainant, Adrian Muteshi, is laying claim on the land saying he was forcefully evicted during the 2007/2008 post-election violence.

In the event that the judge rules the tract belongs to Muteshi, then title deeds that had been issued for the land that had been split into nine parcels before being sold to Ruto would be cancelled and the land reverted to Muteshi.

The other issue that will arise if the land is given back to Muteshi is that he would pursue the cost of properties he had told the court had been destroyed and the duration he has been kept off the premises.

And as for Ruto, he would lose the money he had spent to purchase the land. The only option he would have left is to institute legal proceedings against those who sold him the land.

The decision to return the land to Muteshi is not expected to have a negative impact on Ruto’s career as he had acquired the land from a third party and he had also told the court that he had been a victim of fraud as he had paid the sellers all the money they had asked for.

In his submission, Ruto had told the court he had purchased the land from a third party, Dorothy Yator, and he had not directly been involved in the transactions.

Not above board

Through his lawyer, Katwa Kigen, Ruto had submitted he had reported the matter to the police when he realised the deal had not been above board.

However, if the judge rules that the land was owned by Yator and not Muteshi, then the Deputy President will still be the owner the parcel and the caveat in place lifted.

In such a scenario, Muteshi will be left with only one option; to appeal against the decision of the court.

In the final submissions, Yator, who is accused of having sold the land fraudulently to Ruto, said she was innocent and had not been involved in the transactions that led to the transfer of the land from the internally displaced person to Ruto.