The Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) is on the spot over failure to crack the identities of 10 faceless individuals who grabbed 301,330 acres of land valued at Sh15 billion at the Galana Kulalu ranch in Kilifi County.
The National Assembly’s Committee on Implementation accused the DCI’s Lands Fraud Unit of negligence for failing to initiate investigations into the illegal subdivisions and encroachment of the Galana Kulalu ranch that belongs to the Agricultural Development Corporation (ADC).
The Galana Kulalu irrigation project in Kilifi County.
Photo credit: Pool
The committee heard that the DCI has not acted on the recommendations of the House that were adopted in the 12th Parliament, directing the anti-crime burster and the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) to expedite and conclude investigations into the attempted grabbing of ADC 1 FR. 119/86 land with a view to prosecuting any persons found culpable.
“On the Report of the Departmental Committee on Lands on Public Petition No. 004 of 2021 by the Honourable Michael Kingi, MP on behalf of Magarini Community landowners regarding irregular extension of Galana Ranching Boundary, this matter is not being handled by the DCI,” George Kisika, who signed on behalf of the Director Criminal Investigation, said in a letter dated July 21, 2025 and tabled before the committee.
A combine harvester offloading maize into a lorry at Galana-Kulalu Irrigation food security project in Kilifi and Tana River Counties on July 9, 2020.
Photo credit: File | Nation Media Group
The DCI appeared before the committee chaired by Budalangi MP Raphael Wanjala to respond to the implementation status of the recommendations of the Report of a Petition by the former Embakasi West MP George Theuri on behalf of the residents of Mowlem Ward regarding alleged irregular allocation of land L.R. No.11379/3, and the Report of the Departmental Committee on Lands on Public Petition No. 004 of 2021 by the Magarini MP Michael Kingi on behalf of Magarini Community landowners regarding irregular extension of Galana Ranching Boundary.
The House in May 2022 adopted recommendations of the Departmental committee on Lands, which scrutinised a public petition filed by Mr Kingi on behalf of Magarini Community landowners regarding the irregular extension of the Galana Ranching boundary.
The committee recommended that EACC and the DCI should expedite and conclude the ongoing investigations into the attempted illegal subdivisions and encroachment of Galana Kulalu Ranch, ADC 1 FR. 119/86 land with a view to prosecuting any persons found culpable.
President William Ruto on May 16, 2025 during a tour of the Galana Kulalu irrigation project in Kilifi County.
Photo credit: Pool
The committee also recommended that the Director of Surveys, in collaboration with the ADC, County Government of Kilifi, the National Land Commission, and the representatives of the local communities, including the petitioners, undertake a repeat exercise to determine the boundary between Galana Kulalu Ranch, ADC 1 FR. 119/86 and Adu Kamale Adu Chamari Adjudication Sections within six months of tabling of the report.
The Lands committee had in its report directed the DCI and the EACC to unravel the circumstances that led to the grabbing of the 301,350 acres.
On Tuesday, July 22, members of the Committee on Implementation accused the DCI of deliberately delaying investigations into the land-grabbing claims at ADC’s Galana Kulalu ranch.
Appearing before the committee on behalf of Lands Principal Secretary Nixon Korir, Chief Land Registration Officer David Nyandoro told MPs the boundaries of the ADC 1 FR. No. 119/86 of 1972 has not been altered, and no new survey has been presented to the Director of Survey for approval.
Mr Nyandoro said a repeat exercise to determine the boundary between Galana Kulalu Ranch, ADC 1 FR. 119/86 and Adu Kamale and Adu Chamari Adjudication Section has not been done.
“The Director of Surveys (DoS) was to offer technical assistance to ADC, the County government of Kilifi and the National Land Commission. The State Department is ready to offer any technical assistance when called upon,” Mr Korir said in a written response to the committee.
Mr Nyandoro told the committee that the issues recommendations made by the Lands committee fall squarely under the mandates of the National Land Commission (NLC), the DCI and the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC).
“Chair, it is the view of the Ministry that these recommendations fall under the mandate of the NLC, DCI, and EACC, and therefore, these bodies are best placed to provide a status update,” he told the committee.
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Photo credit: File | Nation Media Group
The ADC management, while appearing before the Lands committee in 2022, said that the ten people had started developing the portion they had grabbed in Galana Kulalu ranch by building infrastructure and dams without the knowledge of the corporation.
The then ADC chairman Nick Salat told MPs the corporation did not have the identities of the 10 people and urged the investigative agencies to reveal their identities to the public.
“I am not in a position to give the names of the influential people; all we are interested in is getting back the land. It is upon investigating agencies to give out the names,” Mr Salat said.
In 2013, President Uhuru Kenyatta and his then-deputy William Ruto identified the Galana Kulalu project as part of boosting food security in the country.
The flagship project, however, failed to take off following allegations of corruption with a parliamentary committee touring the facility and recommending the termination of the Sh14.5 billion project on the grounds that it was no longer viable.
