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Two former Commissioners of Lands Wilson Gachanja and Zablon Mabeya were yesterday charged in a Mombasa court over land fraud.

Also charged alongside the duo was a former Physical Planner in the Lands ministry, Jabu Salim Mohamed.

The suspects were charged with nine counts related to abuse of office, willful neglect of official duties and aiding the commission of a felony before Mombasa Principal Magistrate Martin Rabera. They pleaded not guilty to the charges.

The offenses  were allegedly committed in Kwale county in 1994.

The court heard that on diverse dates between June 10 and June 23, 1994, Gachanja in his capacity as the Commissioner in charge of Lands, aided the commission of a felony by abetting Galerius Investments Limited to irregularly acquire a beach plot, which had been set aside as a public access road.

Gachanja is further accused of preparing a lease certificate, in favor of Galerius Investments Limited over a beach public access road described as Kwale Diani beach in abuse of the authority of his office.

Mohamed was accused of willfully neglecting to perform his assigned public duties by allowing the transfer and alienation of beach public land to a private developer.

The suspects were each released on a Sh1 million bond and a surety of similar amount with an alternative of Sh200,000 cash bail.

The matter will be mentioned on July 4 for pretrial purposes.

Gachanja, Mabeya and Salim were arrested yesterday morning before being arraigned late afternoon.

The trio has been on EACC’s radar over what the agency’s chief executive officer Twalib Mbarak, said was facilitating illegal acquisition of public land dubbed Kwale Diani Beach block/1072 that was meant for a public access road valued at Sh30 million.

Twalib disclosed that the commission was looking into other cases with a view to parading those found culpable to answer to criminal charges that could see them jailed severally.