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Former Commissioner of Lands Sammy Mwaita faces fraud charges, freed on Sh10m bond
Former lands commissioner Sammy Komen Mwaita.
Former Commissioner of Lands Sammy Mwaita has been charged with Sh300 million land fraud allegedly committed 24 years ago.
Mr Mwaita faced seven counts of conspiracy to commit a felony, forgery of titles, abuse of office and giving false information to the police.
He denied all the charges while arraigned before Milimani senior principal magistrate Ben Mark Ekhubi.
The former Lands boss is charged alongside another suspect, Mr Brian Kiptoo Kiplagat, who did not attend court. Mr Ekhubi issued summons to Mr Kiptoo to attend court on August 5 to plead to three counts of conspiracy to defraud and giving false information to the police.
The charges state that on March 30, 2001, the duo conspired to commit an offence by allegedly making a grant title for land registered in the name of Rose Njoki with an intent to defraud her.
The land measuring 0.2hectares and valued at Sh150 million is situated in Nairobi West along Mai Mahiu Road.
The second charge says that on the same dates, the duo conspired to defraud a Mr Micugu Wagatharia of his parcel of land measuring 0.1 hectares and valued Sh150 million.
Making a title deed, false information
Mr Mwaita is separately charged with making a title deed for two parcels of land in the name of Shaba trustees limited claiming it was a genuine title properly processed and issued by the Ministry of Lands.
The former Commissioner of Lands cum MP is further charged with fraudulently registering a parcel of land in the name of Ms Njoki without her consent.
Similarly, he is accused of registering the parcel of Mr Mucugu without his consent.
The DPP has further charged Mwaita with giving false information to Sergeant Nicolaus Otieno of the Lands fraud investigation unit at DCI that the two parcels of land belongs to Shaba Trustees limited, while knowing the information is false. He allegedly gave the false information on March 17, 2020, at the DCI headquarters in Nairobi.
The charge further claims Mwaita had intended to cause Sergeant Otieno to recommend to the DPP to prosecute Ms Njoki and Mr Mucugu.
Defence lawyers opposed to the prosecution of Mr Mwaita say that the issue of ownership has been determined by the High Court and Court of Appeal, which vested the land in dispute to Shaba Trustees Limited.
The lawyers faulted the charges on grounds that they are defective.
His lawyers also argued that he is a retired civil servant who also served the public as an MP and should not be dragged to court over matters that have already been decided by the superior courts.
"The accused herein is in his 60s enjoying his retirement. His wife too is on retirement and it's unfortunate that he is being prosecuted for decisions taken while in office...the Court of Appeal has declared Shaba Trustees as the valid and the legal owner of the property in dispute."
The defence also blamed the DPP for overtly going behind its back and obtaining exparte orders lifting the conservatory orders issued issued by two High Court judges prohibiting the prosecution of Mr Mwaita.
He has been freed on Sh10 million bond with a surety of a similar amount, or cash bail of Sh2 million coupled with two contact persons.
Mr Ekhubi ordered the former MP to present himself to court on August 5, 2025, for plea taking.
