A member of parliament, local land society officials and former government administrators are among 30 people under investigation related to potential massive land fraud behind a recent court ruling returning contested property to East African Portland Cement, Kenyan authorities announced Tuesday.
Mavoko MP Makau Patrick King’ola and top officials from the Aimi Ma Lukenya Society are suspected by the Directorate of Criminal Investigations of involvement in fraudulent sales of plots on a 104-acre parcel known as LR No. 10424. A Nairobi court recently affirmed ownership by the cement company after years of disputes.
In a strongly worded statement, the DCI said it has “credible information indicating that many of the over 500 families being evicted from the land are innocent buyers who fell victim to organized criminal fraudsters.” The agency has established a dedicated unit at the Athi River Police Station to aid an investigation into personal losses totaling millions of shillings related to the land.
The DCI named Aimi Ma Lukenya Society Chairman Julius Mutie Mutua, Treasurer Pascal Kiseli Basilio Mungui, Secretary Alex Kyalo Mutemi and Organizing Secretary Jonathan Mutisya Muinde among those summoned to provide information and documentation related to land sales and financial transactions.
Also named were individuals from at least two other local societies tied to the disputed land. The DCI said it will urgently record statements and accept documentation from victims allegedly swindled out of down payments, title fees and other costs associated with purported land purchases.
“Many hardworking Kenyans appear to have lost their life savings and been rendered homeless as a result of the alleged criminal actions of these groups,” the DCI statement said.
In addition to the MP and society officials, also named were former Mavoko deputy county commissioners, district criminal investigations officers and local chiefs who may have been complicit or involved in facilitating dubious land sales in the area.
“It is the responsibility of the DCI to ensure that justice prevails, and the laws of the land are respected,” said N. Ireri Kamwende, on behalf of the director of criminal investigations.
In its statement, the DCI promised confidentiality for anyone providing information and said the probe aims “to send a strong signal that these actions mark the end of land fraudsters’ heyday in Kenya.”
