Dead man walking in Charity Ngilu-Evans Kidero land saga

Shocking new details of the land grabbing scandal involving a 2.5 acre plot near State House, Nairobi, have emerged after the man at the centre of the saga was declared dead and a death certificate issued in his name despite his being alive.

According to the fake death certificate seen by the Sunday Nation, Julius Kiplangat Kitur  is said to have died on October 22, 2005.

The certificate issued the following day states that he died from a brain tumour at Tenwek Hospital in Kericho.

According to the certificate, signed by a Mr Kiprono and  lodged in court at the genesis of the land scandal in 2009, Mr Kitur, 35, a driver, died in February 2005.

Surprisingly, Edison Kiplangat Bundotich, who is known to Mr Kitur, swore an affidavit to back up the death certificate.

“That my partner (the late Julius Kiplangat Kitur) died on February 22, 2005 after suffering from brain tumour and chest complications for about one and a half years,” says Mr Bundotich in the affidavit sworn before Kandie Kimutai and Company Advocates on October 29, 2005.

Land Secretary Charity Ngilu and Nairobi Governor Evans Kidero have been sensationally named in the scandal involving the land valued at Sh600 million. A company, Myta Development Ltd, has gone to court accusing Mrs Ngilu of colluding with fraudsters to grab the land.

The two top officials are named in court documents filed on Friday March 6, 2015 that have shed light on operations of land sharks and exposed an alleged unholy alliance of politicians, lawyers and crooks who prowl government offices looking for get-rich-quick schemes.

JOINTLY OWNED

Mr Bundotich swore the affidavit to allow him to sell the plot, which he said he owned jointly with Mr Kitur.

The affidavit was submitted to the Environment and Land Division of the High Court in a case filed last year by Koskei Karanja and Company Advocates on behalf of Mr Kitur.

“I shall subdivide the above plot (209/5581) into four equal plots and look for a willing buyer and share equally the proceeds with the widow of the late Kiplangat Kitur (my partner),” said Mr Bundotich.

He also states in the court document that he would sell all the assets he owned jointly with Mr Kitur and share the proceeds with Kitur’s widow.

According to Mr Bundotich, he would also use proceeds of the plot sale to clear Sh3.5 million in hospitals bills incurred by Mr Kitur at Tenwek Hospital.

“I shall involve the widow in all transactions which shall be undertaken, and promise to be honest and trustworthy in sharing the proceeds acquired from the sale of this plot and other assets Kitur owned jointly, prior to his death,” Mr Bundotich said.

But other documents lodged in court show that Mr Kitur is alive and well.

According to the documents lodged in court last Friday, Mr Kitur lives at Mr Haji Khalifa’s home, where he is employed as a driver. Haji is the father of Mr Abbas Khalifa, who, according to court documents, is a front for Mr Kidero in the land deal.

Myta Development Ltd has sued Mrs Ngilu, the Chief Land Registrar and the Director of Survey to recover the property in Nairobi’s State House neighbourhood.

The court documents claim Mrs Ngilu and Mr Kidero colluded with lawyers and fraudsters to grab the piece of prime land that is claimed by Myta Development, a firm owned by Mr Hailu Asfaw, an Ethiopian.

The shocking and elaborate scheme — peppered with death threats and what appears to be outright forgery of documents — was revealed by one of the key players who decided to blow the whistle after he was duped and sidelined.

According to the documents, in January, at the height of the demonstration by Lang’ata Road Primary School pupils over the alleged grabbing of their playground, Mrs Ngilu invaded the State House Crescent land claiming it belonged to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

She stationed people wearing National Youth Service uniform to guard the property.

The minister returned the following day with a private contractor who took over the property and within hours delivered building materials to the site, court documents state.

In an affidavit, Mr Langat says that Mr Kidero was invited to the deal by Mr Kitur, the alleged owner.

Subsequently, Mr Kidero brought his lawyer, Mr Tom Onyango, and Mrs Ngilu who agreed to “clean the title deed” before buying the land. But when the “cleaning” had been done, Mr Langat was kicked out of the deal.