Nyandarua County Assembly Speaker Steve Wachira Waiganjo is facing a legal suit filed by a Nakuru widow over the ownership of a seven-acre parcel of land in Nakuru.
The widow, namely Salome Wanjiru Kamau, has accused the Speaker of fraudulently transferring the land to his name in 2018 while serving as her lawyer in Nakuru.
In her petition before court, Ms Wanjiru, who claims to be the owner of the prime parcel of land LR No. 451/55 in Nakuru West Sub-county, says she approached the lawyer for assistance in processing the title of the land after her husband passed on.
The husband was allegedly allocated the land by the first President, Mzee Jomo Kenyatta, in 1976 and remained in peaceful occupation until his demise.
Ms Wanjiru claimed to have paid the lawyer Sh150, 000 for the processing of the title in 2018.
However, she was surprised in 2024 when she was approached by a man identified as Samuel Mathu, a ward representative from Nyandarua, asking her to vacate the said land.
The Mirangine MCA informed her that he had purchased the land from Mr Waiganjo and that he needed to develop it.
She called the Speaker over the matter, who assured her that everything was okay as he was still processing the documents.
The widow, who was now apprehensive of losing her land, proceeded to the lands registry in Nakuru to confirm some of the claims by the MCA.
“The applicant got a chance to speak to the registrar by the name Erick Nyamu, who, upon listening to her story, asked her if she was ready to refund the Sh20 million which had been used to process various title deeds of her land,” states Ms Wanjiru.
The widow claims the MCA has since put construction materials on the property and might commence construction at any time.
In addition, she claimed to have been assaulted on various occasions during altercations on the land.
Through her lawyer, Victor Anyango, the widow has obtained orders from the court stopping any activities on the land pending hearing and determination of the case.
In her case, Ms Wanjiru has attached various documents, including her allotment letter to the land, her client-advocate contract with Mr Waiganjo, and payment receipts to the firm of Wachira Waiganjo and Company Advocates.
When contacted for comment, Mr Waiganjo maintained that the land parcel is his, arguing that the woman is misrepresenting facts.
The Speaker noted that the land and the title deeds have been severally investigated by the Directorate of Criminal Investigations, which found no criminal elements.
“The land has always been mine, and I have documents to show for it. This matter has been investigated several times, and the DCI have not found any element of fraud on my side. We also have the Advocates Complaints Commission, which she can approach should she have issues with my conduct,” said the Speaker.
He noted that he is planning to file an objection to the case since, according to him, the widow has no standing to file the case against him.
