Senior land official among suspects charged in Ksh1B fraud case
The registrar of titles at the Ministry of Lands headquarters at Ardhi House is among ten individuals who have been charged in a Ksh1 billion fraud case.
According to a statement by the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI), the case which has been investigated by the agency's Land Fraud Investigation Unit, found Jacob Cartwright Owino guilty alongside nine others including Land Administration officer Andrew Aseri Kirungu.
“Ten individuals have been charged with fraud in a shillings one billion land deal in Nairobi, which the DCI's Land Fraud Investigations Unit has been investigating,” the statement shared by DCI reads in parts. 
“The ten include a Registrar of Titles at the Ministry of Lands headquarters Ardhi House, Jacob Cartwright Owino, and a Land Administration officer, Andrew Aseri Kirungu, who were further charged with abuse of office.”
In the botched land deal to defraud a realty broker limited the prime parcel of land, the said individual falsely pretended that a letter of allotment was a genuine letter issued by the National Land Commission to facilitate the registration of the parcel of land.
“In the botched land deal, the two with other individuals namely Diana Njeri Muiyuro, James Mbote Gicheha, Joseph Njoroge Kimani, Joseph Gichohi Kinyanjui, Gladys Wambui Mwangi, Mohamed Jimale Abdille, Charles Mwangi Waithaka and George Ndungu Mumbi conspired with intent to defraud Realty Brokers Limited the prime parcel of land by falsely pretending that a letter of allotment Ref. No. 93103 was a genuine Letter of Allotment issued by the National Land Commission to facilitate the registration of the parcel of land in the name of Mwadi Women Entrepreneurs Limited,” DCI added.
“Other charges preferred against the individuals include making a false document and obtaining registration by false pretences.”
The other nine suspects who appeared before the chief magistrate pleaded not guilty to the charges and were released on a cash bail of Ksh100,000, however, the land officer failed to appear before the court citing illness.
"Whereas nine suspects appeared before Chief Magistrate Lucas Onyina, pleaded not guilty to the charges, and were released on Ksh100,000 cash bail, one contact person, the land officer Andrew Aseri Kirungu, failed to appear before the court citing illness," DCI added.
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