Unscrupulous land agents are taking advantage of the emerging land-buying boom around the Mumias Sugar Company to make a killing as unsuspecting buyers get entangled in multiple land deals.
In a bid to cash in on desperate landowners trying to make ends meet following the dwindling fortunes of the once giant sugar miller, the brokers are combing the area to "make a killing".
The allure of buying land in Mumias peaked in 2021, when the firm’s management introduced a voluntary retirement scheme.
But in a disturbing trend, a number of land buyers are being sent to an early grave as fraudsters reign supreme.
Chief of Nabongo location Stephen Eroba noted that there has been an influx of Kenyans from different parts of the country rushing to buy property in the region either to build new homes or wait for prices to rise.
He, however, expressed concern that cases of land disputes had become rampant in the area.
“We mostly get to know of land transactions after the deals have gone sour because the business is filled with a lot of brokers who would not want to involve us in the initial stages of selling or buying land,” said Mr Eroba.
He said an average of 10 cases a month are reported to his office after the buyer and seller get into a dispute.
"In some cases, a family member sells the land without involving the rest of the family. When the buyer starts to develop the land, the other members of the family come out to resist, leading to disputes. Many of these cases have led to deaths," Mr Eroba added.
A Nation.Africa investigation has also revealed cases where several buyers and landowners have met their deaths after attempts to collect money from multiple land buyers for the same piece of land turned tragic.
The latest incident occurred earlier this month when Mr Otieno*, not his real name, from Musango area of Lureko, was found murdered along the road with some body parts missing.
He had sold part of his land to three people, leading to a verbal altercation with one of the buyers who vowed revenge for losing his money. The case is still before the court in Mumias.
In March this year, an elderly woman was murdered in Elwanda village in a dispute over land bought by her late husband.
Three people have been arrested in connection with her death and the case is still ongoing in court.
Some of the land agents advertise non-existent plots of land, which they end up selling at inflated prices to unsuspecting buyers.
"I came across an advertisement on social media for a piece of land in the Nyapora area. I contacted the person whose number was on the advertisement and we agreed on Sh1.1 million for the acre of land.
“I only visited the site once but processed everything through phone calls and emails. When I was ready to occupy my investment, I got the shock of my life. I was conned of my money,” said Mr Said Wakhule.
In a related incident, Ms Ann Machoni, a mother of three who bought a 50 by 100-feet plot in Shitukhumi, said she got the shock of her life when she moved to the site to start developing her plot.
“After paying Sh1.2 million to build a home, I was repulsed by some of the family members. The case has been dragging on in court and I am afraid I may lose the parcel," she said.
In another strange twist, an attempt by Mr Jonathan Shiundu to get a piece of land in Matawa sub-location came to naught after he lost his way in the area, which he attributed to the effects of witchcraft.
"I honestly can't tell you where my land is and I don't know the direction to it, forget about me building there," Mr Shiundu Shiundu told the Nation.
Hassan Saleh, a property consultant at Matawa Consultants, attributed the rising cases of land fraud to a culture that associates success with land.
"Today, land acquisition is seen as a symbol of hard work and success, even if the property was acquired through dubious means," he said.
