In a dramatic twist in one of the longest-running and most contentious land disputes in the North Rift region, a man who won a 30-year court battle over the 606-acre Nyalibei Farm and evicted hundreds of families has now been sentenced to five years in jail for forging a government official’s signature.
An Eldoret court found that David Lei Soit’s victory was supported by fake documents, including a forged signature of a senior Ministry of Lands official.
The documents were allegedly intended for use by surveyors to demarcate and distribute the disputed land to beneficiaries.
On Tuesday, the Eldoret Magistrate’s Court delivered a stunning blow to the livestock farmer, ruling that his claim to the multi-billion-shilling estate in Uasin Gishu County was built on what it described as criminal deception.
Mr Soit’s plea for leniency was rejected by Senior Principal Magistrate Peter Areri, who sentenced him to five years in prison without the option of a fine.
The court found that Mr Soit conspired to forge the signature of Mr Peter K Kahuho, a high-ranking official at the Ministry of Lands, in order to facilitate the subdivision of the prime property.
“I have considered the facts of the offence and the effect it could have caused the complainant,” Magistrate Areri noted in his brief verdict.
The magistrate said the prosecution had proven beyond a reasonable doubt that on December 16, 2024, Mr Soit and accomplices, still at large, fabricated a ministry letter (Ref: ADM/350/VOL.X/102), falsely claiming it was an authentic document from the land surveyor’s office.
The letter purported to authorise a private surveyor and physical planner to subdivide the land among beneficiaries as directed by the Environment and Land Court.
According to the prosecution, the document was intended to mislead authorities into believing that the national government had sanctioned the distribution of the 606-acre Soy-based estate.
This criminal conviction adds a dramatic new chapter to one of the region’s most protracted land conflicts. While Mr Soit had previously succeeded in evicting hundreds of families from Nyalibei Farm, his victory is now overshadowed by a felony conviction.
The case, which featured seven key witnesses, including DCI officers, confirmed that the “breakthrough” in the multi-billion-shilling dispute was achieved through a violation of Section 351 of the Penal Code.
The earlier ruling by the Environment and Land Court had already intensified an ethnic standoff that continues to threaten the social fabric of Soy Sub-county.
The ownership conflict dates back to 1965, when the 909-acre estate was purchased from a Boer farmer who held the land during the colonial era.
On one side is the Maasai Group, led initially by the late Kachero Ole Makala and later by his son Mr David Lei Soit. They claim they legally bought the land in 1965 for Sh20,000, entitling them to 606 acres, two-thirds of the farm.
On the other side is the Kalenjin Group, made up of hundreds of local families, many identifying as Nandi or Keiyo, who argue they have lived on the land since the 1970s.
They say they possess title deeds (now disputed) and represent the indigenous interests of the region.
The dispute has drawn in powerful political figures, further fuelling the tribal narrative.
Soy MP David Kiplagat, himself a resident of the farm, has emerged as a vocal defender of the families facing eviction.
When eviction orders were issued, local leaders described them as an attempt by outsiders the Maasai group, to displace local Kalenjin families who have built schools, churches, and homes on the disputed land for more than 50 years.
Since the eviction order was issued, the area MP has publicly dismissed the legal claims, calling them the work of “conmen,” while the Makala family accuses local politicians of using their influence to frustrate valid court orders and police enforcement.
